Fire Watch
What is a fire watch?
A fire watch is the person or persons responsible for continuously
observing hot work activity for the detection of, and response to,
fires during hot work operations. A fire watch has the authority to
stop work if necessary and conduct essential steps for restoring
safe conditions within the hot work area.
The person performing the hot work cannot be the fire watch. That
worker is concentrating on their own work and will not be able
to react quickly enough should a fire ignite. Therefore, another
employee or employees must be assigned the fire watch duty.
Similarly, personnel actively engaged as the fire watch cannot
perform other duties. Their focus and only duty is to watch for and
respond to fires that occur during hot work.
this course.
When is a fire watch required?
OSHA requires employers to post a fire watch during hot work if
any of the following conditions are present
1. Slag, weld splatter, or sparks which might pass through an
opening and cause a fire.
2. Fire-resistant guards or curtains are not used to prevent the
ignition of combustible materials on or near decks, bulkheads,
partitions, or overheads.
3. Combustible material is located closer than 35 feet to the hot
work area, in either the horizontal or vertical direction, that
cannot be removed, protected with flame-proof covers, nor
otherwise shielded with metal or fire-resistant guards or curtains- Hot work occurs on or near insulation, combustible coatings,
or sandwich-type construction that cannot be shielded, cut
back, or removed, or in a space within a sandwich-type
construction or inter-barrier space that cannot be inerted.
5. Combustible materials adjacent to the opposite sides of
bulkheads, decks, overheads, metal partitions, or sandwichtype construction may be ignited by conduction or radiation.
6. The hot work is close enough to cause ignition through heat
radiation or conduction on the following:
• Insulated pipes, bulkheads, decks, partitions, or overheads;
• Combustible materials and/or coatings; or
• Unprotected combustible pipes or cable runs.
7. A Marine Chemist, a Coast Guard-authorized person, or a
shipyard competent person (SCP), as defined in 29 CFR Part
1915, Subpart B, requires that a fire watch be posted.
The number and location of personnel performing fire watch duty
depends on the scope of work. For example, if multiple blind
compartments (e.g., areas separated by a bulkhead) are involved in
the hot work operation, a fire watch must be posted simultaneously
in each blind area. Similarly, where hot material from hot work could
spread or fall over more than one level, as in trunks, plenums, cargo
holds, and machinery spaces, a fire watch must be posted at each
affected level, unless positive means are available to prevent the
spread or fall of hot material. To ensure an adequate number of fire
watch personnel are posted, some ports or shipyards designate a - minimum ratio of personnel performing hot work to the number of
employees assigned as a fire watch (e.g., one fire watch per every
four workers performing hot work in the same location, assigning
additional fire watches appropriate for the number of workers that
exceed that amount). Employers should also consult with local and
state officials prior to performing hot work to determine if there are
other regional requirements that they must follow.
What are the duties and responsibilities ofthe fire watch?
Personnel assigned as fire watch are essential during hot work
operations. Their duties begin before the hot work starts and
continue well after the work is complete. Therefore, employees
assigned fire watch duties must be:
• Trained to detect fires that occur in areas exposed to hot work
• Able to effectively communicate with workers, including alerting
personnel when a fire has progressed beyond the incipient
stage
• Physically capable of performing the physical demands
necessary for fire watch duties ; and
• Aware of their responsibilities as a fire watch (29 CFR
For More Information?
Your nearest OSHA office can provide more information. Also,
OSHA’s On-Site Consultation Program offers no-cost and confidential
occupational safety and health services to small and medium-sized
businesses in all states, with priority given to high-hazard worksites.
On-Site consultation services are separate from enforcement
and do not result in penalties or citations. For more information
or to find the local On-Site Consultation office in your state, visit globaltechnicalinstitut.com