Emergency Action Plans and Fire Prevention

Two OSHA standards govern emergency preparedness in general industry: 1910.38 (Emergency Action Plans) and 1910.39 (Fire Prevention Plans). Both are short, both are frequently incomplete in practice, and both are easy to evidence properly.

This page is not legal advice.

When you need one

Neither standard applies universally. Each says a plan is required when another OSHA standard requires one. In practice that captures a great many workplaces, because the standards that trigger it are common — including the fire-extinguisher standard (1910.157), fixed extinguishing systems, and several substance-specific standards.

In practice, most employers should have both. The bar for a defensible position after a serious incident is not “no standard specifically compelled me to plan for this.”

The written threshold: an employer with 10 or fewer employees may communicate the plan orally rather than in writing. Above that, both plans must be in writing, kept in the workplace, and available to employees for review (1910.38(b), 1910.39(b)).

1910.38 — Emergency Action Plans

Minimum contents

At minimum an emergency action plan must include (1910.38(c)):

Procedures for reporting a fire or other emergency
Procedures for emergency evacuation, including type of evacuation and exit route assignments
Procedures to be followed by employees who remain to operate critical plant operations before they evacuate
Procedures to account for all employees after evacuation
Procedures for employees performing rescue or medical duties
The name or job title of every employee who may be contacted by employees who need more information about the plan or their duties under it

Alarm system

1910.38(d) requires an employee alarm system that uses a distinctive signal for each purpose and complies with 1910.165.

Training

You must designate and train enough employees to assist in a safe and orderly evacuation (1910.38(e)), and review the plan with each employee:

When the plan is first developed or the employee is initially assigned to a job
When the employee’s responsibilities under the plan change
When the plan itself changes

1910.39 — Fire Prevention Plans

Minimum contents

A fire prevention plan must include (1910.39(c)):

A list of all major fire hazards, proper handling and storage procedures for hazardous materials, potential ignition sources and their control, and the type of fire protection equipment needed to control each major hazard
Procedures to control accumulations of flammable and combustible waste materials
Procedures for regular maintenance of safeguards installed on heat-producing equipment to prevent accidental ignition
The name or job title of employees responsible for maintaining equipment to prevent or control ignition sources or fires
The name or job title of employees responsible for the control of fuel source hazards

Employee information

Employers must inform employees of the fire hazards to which they are exposed on initial assignment, and review the parts of the plan necessary for self-protection (1910.39(d)).

Drills

Neither 1910.38 nor 1910.39 prescribes a drill frequency. That surprises people — but the absence of a mandated interval does not make drills optional in practice:

Other standards do require them in specific settings — for example, permit-required confined space rescue teams must practise at least annually (1910.146)
State Plans and local fire codes frequently do mandate drill frequencies, and often more than annually for particular occupancies
NFPA 101 (Life Safety Code), adopted into many state and local fire codes, sets drill requirements by occupancy type
Evacuation procedures that have never been rehearsed are difficult to defend as adequate after an incident

A reasonable default for most workplaces is at least annually, more often for higher-risk sites, multi-storey buildings, or where staff turnover is high. Check your state and local fire code — that is usually where the binding number lives.

Exit routes — 1910.36 and 1910.37

Emergency planning is only as good as the exits. Subpart E requires:

Exit routes that are permanent and adequately lit
Exit doors that are unlocked from the inside and open in the direction of travel where serving more than 50 people or a high-hazard area
Exit routes kept free of obstruction and clutter at all times
Exit signage that is clearly visible, marked “EXIT”, and illuminated
Doors that could be mistaken for an exit marked “Not an Exit” or by their use
Generally at least two exit routes, located as far apart as practicable

Blocked and cluttered exit routes are among the most common findings in an inspection, and are exactly what a recurring walkthrough inspection catches.

Emergency contact numbers

The universal emergency number in the United States is 911.

If you are used to SteadyOn documentation written for other markets, note that the number differs by country — 111 in New Zealand, 000 in Australia, 999 or 112 in the UK. If your organisation operates across borders, make sure each site’s emergency plan carries the right one.

Consider also recording: your local fire department’s non-emergency line, Poison Control (1-800-222-1222 nationally), your utility emergency lines, and the nearest OSHA area office for severe-injury reporting.

How SteadyOn helps

Requirement	SteadyOn module
The written emergency action plan	Emergency Plans — plan body
Fire prevention plan	Emergency Plans — a second plan, or a section of the first
Named contacts and their roles under the plan	Emergency Plans — Contacts
Emergency services and their numbers	Emergency Services directory
Fire extinguishers, alarms, AEDs, spill kits	Emergency Equipment, with deployments per plan
Evacuation drills and their outcomes	Emergency Plans — Drills
Assembly points	Sites — assembly point field
Exit route and housekeeping walkthroughs	Inspections — a recurring template
Extinguisher and alarm servicing	Inspections, or Actions with due dates
Evacuation warden training	Training Courses + Enrollments, with a Fire Warden role
Plan review and reissue	The Log page shows every revision with who and when

A practical setup: create one emergency plan per site, attach the contacts and equipment deployed there, and schedule drills on the plan. The drill record — date, participants, what went wrong, and the corrective actions raised — is the evidence that your procedures actually work, which is the part inspectors and insurers care about most.

Where to go next

First Aid and Medical Services — the medical side of emergency response
29 CFR 1910 General Industry — the standards that trigger the plan requirement
State Plans and Cal/OSHA — states with additional emergency planning duties