420-07 POST FIRE GROSS DECONTAMINATION.pdf

Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Standard Operating Guideline SOG 420-07 Post Fire Gross Decontamination Issue Date: 05/21/2018...

Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Standard Operating Guideline SOG 420-07 Post Fire Gross Decontamination Issue Date: 05/21/2018 Effective Date: 06/21/2018 PURPOSE: To establish a safe and effective practice of removing toxic particulate from equipment and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) after exposure to products of combustion. This procedure shall aid in reducing firefighter exposures and subsequently have a positive short and long term health impact. AUTHORITY:  Fire Rescue Administrator  NFPA 1851, 1971, 1972, 1973, and 1974  OSHA 29 CFR 1910.156(e)(3)(ii) SCOPE: This standard operating guideline shall apply to all Emergency Operations personnel. PROCEDURE: All members of Fire Rescue shall protect themselves and their co-workers’ health and safety by adhering to the following procedures. 1. On Scene Post Fire Gross Decontamination a. Overview: i. The Decon process described in this SOG strictly refers to a Gross Decon following exposure to productions of combustion (refer to SOG 700-01 Emergency-Gross Decontamination). This procedure shall be systematic and orderly. ii. The Gross Decon process shall be utilized on all fires where PPE is worn and exposed to products of combustion. This shall include, but not be limited to: 1. Structure fires 2. Wildland fires 3. Vehicle fires 4. Training fires 5. Any other emergency or non-emergency incidents where the combustion process occurs. iii. All Fire Rescue personnel that were exposed to products of combustion shall perform Gross Decon prior to entering Rehabilitation (Rehab), leaving the incident, or training activity. SOG 420-07 Post Fire Gross Decontamination Page 1 of 5  b. Preparation: i. Personnel may find it beneficial to assemble and maintain a personal "Go-Bag" with a clean uniform that can be accessed after any incident where they've been exposed to toxins. Recommended items in a personal Go Bag would include: Class D uniform or jumpsuit, socks, clean footwear, hat, towel, sun protection. c. Gross Decon Setup: i. Gross Decon shall be located in the warm zone (refer to SOG 420-01 Fire Attack Operations). ii. Generally, Gross Decon should be set up by the first arriving suppression apparatus closest to the products of combustion. iii. It shall be the Driver Operator's responsibility to establish and oversee the Gross Decon area and process. iv. The Driver Operator shall ensure that the apparatus tank water or any water used in the Gross Decon process is from a clean municipal (hydrant) water source and is not stagnant or contaminated water. v. The Gross Decon area shall be designated by deploying an approved Decon Hose Line and marking the nozzle location with a green traffic cone. vi. The Decon Hose Line is a brush-fire flat hose equipped with a garden style nozzle and a rain droplet setting. This setup is preferred as it provides flushing with high flow but lower pressure water. This flushing avoids embedding toxins further into fabric. vii. To facilitate Gross Decon of multiple personnel, additional Decon Hose Lines from other units is encouraged. d. Gross Decon Process: i. After exiting the Hot zone, it is recommended that Companies remain on-air (when possible) and report directly to the designated Decon Hose Line. ii. Personnel shall rinse off debris and products of combustion in a systematic and thorough manner from the collar-line down; being mindful of higher potential collection points, such as the armpit and groin areas. iii. Personnel shall be careful to not saturate the inner lining of the Bunker gear. The goal is to keep the Bunker gear operationally dry on the interior but rinsed as clean as possible on the exterior. iv. Soft bristle scrub brushes and a Fire Rescue approved soap or cleaner may be used to facilitate the PPE cleaning process. v. Follow NFPA 1851 and the manufacturers’ recommendations when cleaning PPE. vi. After rinsing the exterior portion of the PPE, personnel may go off-air and begin to doff their PPE. e. Drop Zone i. All PPE, other than Bunker pants and structural boots, shall be left in a prepared Drop Zone. ii. The Drop Zone shall be located: 1. In the warm zone 2. Remote and downwind of Rehab due to off-gassing PPE SOG 420-07 Post Fire Gross Decontamination Page 2 of 5  iii. After doffing PPE in the Drop Zone, personnel shall use Fire Rescue approved wipes for a gross cleaning of their head, neck, face, hands and any other areas necessary. f. Rehabilitation: i. Personnel that report to Rehab shall first go through the Gross Decon process. ii. Refer to SOG 420-08 Rehabilitation. g. Reporting for Re-Assignment: i. When crews are called from Rehab back into operations, they shall report ready for assignment as requested. ii. If any new assignment involves further exposure to products of combustion (i.e. Overhaul, Secondary Search, retrieving hose lines, etc.), the crew shall then go back through the Gross Decon process as stated above. h. Released from the Scene: i. To keep the cab of the vehicle as clean as possible and to avoid transferring toxins back to the fire station, it is extremely important to perform these Gross Decon processes prior to leaving the incident. ii. Once released by the Incident Commander and prior to leaving the scene, contaminated Bunker pants, Bunker coats and structural boots shall be bagged using the Fire Rescue approved Decon Bags. iii. The Decon Bag opening shall be twisted and taped closed, then “goose- necked” (folded over on itself, and twisted and taped a second time). This procedure minimizes the off-gassing of Bunker gear in the vehicle cab. iv. All other equipment (i.e., helmet exteriors, SCBA packs and cylinders, tools, radio straps, etc…) shall be thoroughly cleaned and scrubbed on scene using water and Fire Rescue approved soap or cleaner. v. Soft bristle scrub brushes should be used to clean equipment. vi. Radios shall be cleaned with Fire Rescue approved wipes. SOG 420-07 Post Fire Gross Decontamination Page 3 of 5  vii. Contaminated PPE shall not be loaded into the vehicle cab, only thoroughly cleaned PPE (i.e., thoroughly cleaned SCBA packs) shall be allowed in the cab. i. Personal Protective Equipment Exchange: i. Personnel determined by the Incident Commander or Incident Safety Officer to have been exposed shall have their hood exchanged prior to leaving the scene (refer to Firefighting Hood Maintenance, PPM FR-O-602). 2. Post Fire Decon at the Fire Station a. Out-of-Service i. To ensure proper and full Decontamination of highly exposed personnel there shall be, as determined and approved by the Battalion Chief, up to one (1) hour of out-of-service time (the time starts when the unit is released from the scene). Lieutenants and Operational Captains are encouraged to keep their units out-of-service time to a minimum and go available prior to one (1) hour. ii. Highly exposed personnel are defined as those that performed interior tasks with thick smoke conditions (i.e. Fire Attack, Primary Search, etc…). b. Showering i. Showering within the hour shall be a priority. ii. All personnel exposed to products of combustion shall fully Decontaminate with showering (not just the “highly exposed” personnel). iii. Showering with the Fire Rescue approved soap, if available, shall reduce the absorption rate of toxins into the body. iv. It is extremely important to use, when available, the Fire Rescue approved wipes and soap for post-fire Gross Decon. These products are not for standard use. c. Decontamination i. The following steps, but not limited to the following, shall be taken immediately upon arrival at the fire station after a fire: 1. Perform a more thorough decontamination of equipment (radio, tools, fire hose, etc…) following NFPA 1851 and manufacturers’ recommendations. 2. Perform a more thorough decontamination of PPE (helmet, bunker gear, SCBA, etc…) following NFPA 1851 and manufacturers’ recommendations. 3. Perform a thorough decontamination of the vehicle cab. 4. Return the vehicle to a state of readiness. 5. Take a “shower within the hour”. 6. Change into clean daily station wear. 7. Units that have been approved to go out-of-service shall go available with the Communication Center at or before the one (1) hour time frame and release any move-up unit(s). d. Ability to Respond: i. Cleaned Bunker gear should be hung on a rack to improve drying times and allow for the continued off-gassing of the interior components. ii. Fans should be used to facilitate off-gassing PPE. SOG 420-07 Post Fire Gross Decontamination Page 4 of 5  iii. A priority shall be placed on positioning PPE in such a way that it shall not hinder rapid turn-out times. e. Maintaining Readiness: i. All personnel shall ensure there is a clean vehicle cab. ii. The potential for secondary exposures during routine vehicle use is high and must be limited. iii. To aid in reducing secondary exposures, vehicle cabs shall be cleaned and decontaminated on a regular basis. Supersession History 1. SOG #2125, issued 01/01/2017 2. SOG 420-07, clerical 05/01/2018 3. SOG 420-07, issued 05/21/2018 SOG 420-07 Post Fire Gross Decontamination Page 5 of 5