Checklist
Checklist - Decontamination and Contamination Control
Document FSSMS-AUD-P03aStage 1Revision 4Version 0.3.3
Topic pages open on your jurisdiction, and requirements tables show its line. You can change this on any page.
This category audits the Decontamination and Contamination Control Program: the hierarchy of contamination control, on-scene preliminary exposure reduction, clean cab and transport, post-call station decontamination, exposure logging, station zoning, diesel exhaust capture as used, decontamination of apparatus and equipment, the training-ground and hazmat and biological handoffs, training, indicators and the accountability loop. Gear cleaning, inspection and records are audited in Checklist - Protective Clothing and Equipment; respirators in the Respiratory Protection category; facilities infrastructure in the Facilities category.
The criteria come from the exposure and contamination control standard, which covers fireground contaminants in facilities, vehicles, operations, PPE and equipment (NFPA 1585, 2025); the fireground toxic contaminant and facility zoning provisions of the responder health and safety standard (NFPA 1550, 2024, ch. 16 and cl. 12.5); the preliminary exposure reduction and cleaning provisions of the care and maintenance standard (NFPA 1850, 2026, ch. 6 and 16); the evidence base on contamination control (FSRI, 2025; IARC, 2023); the occupational health and safety statute and regulations of the department’s province or territory on hazardous substances, exposure limits and PPE (J13 Firefighter PPE and Protective Equipment; J21 WHMIS, Hazardous Materials and Asbestos; J22 Exposure Limits, Heat and Cold Stress); and the accreditation criteria on exposure reduction, near-miss reporting, exposure investigation and documentation, and operational risk management (CPSE, 2019, criteria 11A.4, 11A.6 to 11A.8). Infection control criteria sit in the occupational health and wellness standard (NFPA 1580, 2025) and are audited in the Infection Control category.
0 not in place. 1 documented, not implemented. 2 implemented, not verified effective. 3 implemented and effective with evidence. The category score is the mean of the item scores; report it by category. Score the floor, the scene records and the interviews, not the document.
- Kit check: three front-line apparatus at two stations, one volunteer, against the kit list; count hoods against seated positions.
- Last five working fires: decon logs and the matching exposure reports.
- Station walk from the bay door to the kitchen at two stations, with the zoning plan in hand.
- Watch an apparatus start in the bay, or ask the driver to show the capture connection.
- Interview three members, including a volunteer, one company officer and one incident commander.
- Read the last two quarterly updates and the open items in the Corrective Action Register.
| # | Item | Stage | Evidence expected | Score (0-3) | Finding | Owner | Due |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A written program exists, approved, reviewed within 24 months, citing the current editions of the exposure control, care and health and safety standards | S1 | Program note; approval and review dates (NFPA 1585, 2025; NFPA 1850, 2026; NFPA 1550, 2024) | ||||
| 2 | The hierarchy of contamination control table is completed for the department in the annual appraisal, with the position, gaps and next action at each tier | S1 | Appraisal; hierarchy table filled (FSRI, 2025) | ||||
| 3 | Fireground contamination is in the hazard profile with exposure pathways by activity | S1 | Hazard register entry with inhalation, dermal, ingestion and cross-contamination rows by activity | ||||
| 4 | Every front-line apparatus carries a complete decon kit with a named restocker | S1 | Three apparatus checked against the kit list; restocker named on the apparatus check sheet. Score 0 if any kit is missing wipes, bags or soap | ||||
| 5 | Spare hoods on each apparatus equal at least the seated positions | S1 | Count on three apparatus | ||||
| 6 | A dedicated decon line or sprayer, mild soap and soft brushes are available at every working fire | S1 | Kit; decon logs show water source | ||||
| 7 | The incident commander orders preliminary exposure reduction and does not release crews until it is done | S1 | Last five decon logs: release time after decon complete; IC interview (NFPA 1585, 2025, ch. 7) | ||||
| 8 | Crews are released as soon as operational responsibilities end to limit exposure and fatigue | S1 | Decon logs; interviews | ||||
| 9 | SCBA is worn through overhaul, salvage and investigation until CO and HCN monitoring shows readings below the action levels; the decision is recorded | S1 | Last five decon logs show readings and who cleared removal; action levels in the respiratory program (NFPA 1550, 2024, cl. 16.5.2). Score 0 if any log shows removal without readings | ||||
| 10 | Doffing follows the sequence: facepiece last before hood, hood forward and off, gloves bagged before bare-hand contact, inside out | S1 | Observe a drill; member interviews describe it (FSRI, 2025) | ||||
| 11 | Hood swap and skin wipes (neck, face, hands, forearms) are done at the scene for every exposed member | S1 | Decon logs: 100 percent in the last quarter; wipe and hood consumption matches working fires | ||||
| 12 | Contaminated gear is bagged and tagged at the scene; helmets, boots and SCBA wiped and bagged or compartmented | S1 | Logs; tagged totes at the dirty side | ||||
| 13 | No contaminated gear, SCBA, tools or hose in the crew cab; exceptions recorded | S1 | Open three cabs after a fire week; logs; interviews (NFPA 1585, 2025, ch. 6) | ||||
| 14 | New apparatus specifications include clean-cab features | S2 | Last apparatus specification; Equipment Standards team record | ||||
| 15 | Bagged gear travels in exterior compartments to the dirty side or pickup point and is never taken into a home | S1 | Logs; volunteer interviews; pickup route schedule | ||||
| 16 | Investigators, instructors and command staff follow the same on-scene rules | S1 | Decon logs list them; interviews; no exemption observed | ||||
| 17 | Every exposed member showers within 60 minutes with soap, hair included | S1 | Exposure reports: shower time; 95 percent or better | ||||
| 18 | The unit is out of service for the shower hour, or the deployment exception is recorded and the officer backed | S1 | Decon logs Part D; dispatch records; officer interview | ||||
| 19 | Volunteer halls without showers have a written home-shower alternative and members know it | S1 | Program customization; volunteer interviews | ||||
| 20 | Station wear worn under gear is removed in the yellow zone, laundered in the station-wear machine and never taken home after a fire exposure | S1 | Machine present; interviews; spare sets at the station | ||||
| 21 | Hoods and gloves go to advanced cleaning after every exposure; coats and trousers after every exposure to products of combustion | S1 | Cleaning log entries within seven days for the last five working fires | ||||
| 22 | SCBA facepieces, regulators, harnesses and cylinders are cleaned by the manufacturer’s method and contaminated units kept on the dirty side until cleaned | S1 | SCBA cleaning records; observation (NFPA 1850, 2026, ch. 16) | ||||
| 23 | Hand tools, nozzles, thermal imagers, radios, lights, saws and ladders used in the hot zone are washed or wiped before storage | S1 | Decon log Part C; observe the tool wash area (NFPA 1585, 2025, ch. 9) | ||||
| 24 | Hose used in the structure is washed and dried before reloading | S1 | Log; hose drying area in use | ||||
| 25 | The cab interior is wiped after every fire and deep-cleaned monthly | S1 | Log; monthly record; cleaner stocked | ||||
| 26 | The apparatus exterior is washed after sitting in the plume | S1 | Log | ||||
| 27 | An exposure report is completed for every exposed member before the end of shift (24 hours for volunteers) | S1 | Match rate between working fire incident reports and exposure reports: 100 percent. Score 2 at 90 to 99; 1 below 90 (NFPA 1550, 2024, ch. 16) | ||||
| 28 | The {{Health and Safety Officer}} reconciles exposure reports monthly and reports the match rate | S1 | Reconciliation record; quarterly update | ||||
| 29 | The JOHSC reviews exposure log trends annually and it is minuted | S1 | JOHSC minutes | ||||
| 30 | The department physician receives exposure summaries before annual medicals | S2 | Transmittal record; physician confirmation | ||||
| 31 | Every station has a zoned floor plan (red, yellow, green) posted at the bay entrance with signage at every boundary | S1 | Plans and signs observed at two stations (NFPA 1550, 2024, cl. 12.5); (NFPA 1585, 2025, ch. 5) | ||||
| 32 | The walk-through finds no PPE, hoods, gloves, boots, SCBA, tools or hose in a green zone | S1 | Station walk. Score 0 if any gear in the kitchen, day room or dormitory | ||||
| 33 | A boot boundary, self-closing doors and a hand-wash sink separate red from yellow and yellow from green | S1 | Observed | ||||
| 34 | The gear room is ventilated, out of the bay exhaust path and out of sunlight; the extractor and showers sit in the yellow zone | S1 | Observed; floor plan | ||||
| 35 | Stations that cannot meet zoning have a funded retrofit plan with dates | S2 | Retrofit plan; budget line; Facilities and Station Safety Program | ||||
| 36 | Diesel exhaust capture is connected every time an engine runs in the bay and the system is maintained within 12 months | S1 | Observe a start; driver interview; maintenance record (IARC, 2014; NFPA 1585, 2025, ch. 5 and 6) | ||||
| 37 | A no-idling rule is posted and observed; CO and NO₂ monitors, where installed, are calibrated | S1 | Signage; calibration record | ||||
| 38 | Atmospheric monitors used for SCBA removal decisions are bump-tested before use and calibrated on schedule | S1 | Monitor records | ||||
| 39 | Live fire training applies the same on-scene and post-call controls for students and instructors, with exposure logging per evolution | S1 | Training ground decon log; instructor exposure tally (NFPA 1585, 2025, ch. 7) | ||||
| 40 | Hazardous materials and biological exposures are handed to their programs with separate bagging, tagging and specialized cleaning or retirement | S1 | Decon log regime chosen; cleaning log Part D; Hazardous Materials, CBRN and Energy Hazards Program; Infection Control and Medical Response Safety Program | ||||
| 41 | All members have recruit and annual refresher training with a timed decon drill; 95 percent or better current, including volunteers, instructors and investigators | S1 | Training records; drill records | ||||
| 42 | Officers and incident commanders are trained to run a decon area, control SCBA removal, manage crew release and complete the log | S1 | Training records; interviews | ||||
| 43 | A {{Decon Lead}} is named with time allocated, and restocking, zoning audits and log management are current | S1 | Duty allocation; zoning audit worksheets; weekly logs received | ||||
| 44 | Decon kit readiness, hood and wipe consumption, shower-within-60-minutes and match-rate indicators are reported quarterly against baseline and target | S2 | Quarterly indicator worksheet in the last two updates | ||||
| 45 | A learning-team session with crews from a career station, a volunteer station and training was held before the on-scene and post-call procedures were written or last changed | S2 | Session write-up without names; revision history (Conklin, 2012; Hollnagel, 2014) | ||||
| 46 | The just-culture line is written and known: logs, exposure reports and learning teams are never used for discipline; conduct concerns go to a separate process | S1 | Policy text; interviews (Dekker, 2016) | ||||
| 47 | Accountability and closed feedback loop. The program’s table names one owner, doers, verifiers with frequency (ISO at every working fire, district chief monthly, HSO quarterly, JOHSC on inspection, audit annually), feedback paths with cycle times, and the closure rule with escalation on the schedule each deficiency’s priority sets, P1 (Imminent) to P4 (Improvement) (Corrective Action Register); deficiencies in the register within five working days and closed with evidence | S1 | Table filled with roles; register entries for the quarter; escalation applied to overdue items | ||||
| 48 | Member’s concern route. A decon concern raised at the scene or station is logged, acted on the same day within the officer’s authority, and answered to the member within five working days, with the JOHSC route available | S1 | Decon log Part D concerns and answer dates; action log; interview the last two members who raised one | ||||
| 49 | Psychological safety. Members report they can keep their facepiece on, delay a return to service to decontaminate, or refuse to ride with contaminated gear, without reprisal; near-miss, good-catch and decon concern reports per working fire are counted and 100 percent answered | S2 | Safety culture survey item; report counts and answer rate in the quarterly update; interviews (Edmondson, 1999)DOI | ||||
| 50 | Leaders model the program: command staff decon at scenes, officers who took a unit out of service for the hour are backed, and the station meeting has a standing decon item | S2 | Decon logs listing command staff; interviews; meeting records | ||||
| 51 | The program feeds the learning system: every working fire gets an after-action review with the three decon questions; an exposure without SCBA, a return to service without decon or a zoning breach into a sleeping or eating area triggers a post-incident analysis | S2 | AAR records; triage log; Incident Investigation and Learning Program | ||||
| 52 | The Stage 1 minimum is funded: kits, hoods, wipes, signage, station-wear machines, shower alternatives, {{Decon Lead}} time, the out-of-service hour accepted in the deployment plan | S1 | Budget worksheet; deployment plan | ||||
| 53 | Accreditation crosswalk (where applicable): exposure reduction procedures with an improvement process, near-miss reporting for shared learning, exposure investigation and documentation, operational risk management | S2 | Evidence above mapped to (CPSE, 2019, criteria 11A.4, 11A.6, 11A.7, 11A.8) |
- Ask a firefighter to walk you through the last working fire from “fire under control” to their shower. Where did decon happen, who did it with them, what did they do with their hood, and how did they get home or back in service?
- Ask an incident commander what they would do if the only crew on scene wanted to decon and the next call dropped. Does the answer match the program and the deployment plan?
- Walk from the bay to the kitchen in your own boots and see who stops you.
| Items scored | Mean score | Items at 0 or 1 | Open corrective actions | Auditor (role) | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
This chapter relies on the following legal requirements, which differ by province and territory. Check your jurisdiction’s section on each topic page before adopting it.
| Topic | What to check in your jurisdiction | Page |
|---|---|---|
| Duties of Employers, Supervisors, Workers and Contractors | The employer’s general duty to take every reasonable precaution, including information, instruction, training and supervision, which carries contamination control where no specific rule applies (whole category) | J02 Duties of Employers, Supervisors, Workers and Contractors |
| Volunteer Firefighters | The conditions a volunteer firefighter must meet to benefit from the firefighter presumptions, such as a participation threshold or the chief’s confirmation, which the exposure record must support (items 27 to 30) | J11 Volunteer Firefighters |
| Firefighter PPE and Protective Equipment | The general duty to provide adequate PPE, have it maintained by a competent person and inspected before use, and any protective ensemble standard the regulation names (items 21, 22) | J13 Firefighter PPE and Protective Equipment |
| Respiratory Protection, Fit Testing and Breathing Air | Which respiratory protection program standard and edition the regulation requires for SCBA use, cleaning and removal decisions (items 9, 22) | J14 Respiratory Protection, Fit Testing and Breathing Air |
| WHMIS, Hazardous Materials and Asbestos | The WHMIS regulation and worker education rules that apply to cleaning agents, disinfectants and decon products (items 6, 23) | J21 WHMIS, Hazardous Materials and Asbestos |
| Exposure Limits, Heat and Cold Stress | The basis of the occupational exposure limits for airborne contaminants such as diesel particulate, carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide, which set the action levels for SCBA removal and bay exhaust (items 9, 36 to 38) | J22 Exposure Limits, Heat and Cold Stress |
| Workers’ Compensation and Firefighter Presumptions | Which cancers are presumed work-related in firefighters, the minimum service for each and the qualifying exposure condition, for which the exposure record is the claim evidence (items 27 to 30) | J32 Workers' Compensation and Firefighter Presumptions |
Center for Public Safety Excellence [CPSE]. (2019). Fire and emergency service self-assessment manual (10th ed.). Commission on Fire Accreditation International. https://cpse.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/10th-Edition-FESSAM-Strikethrough-Underline-v.4.pdf
Conklin, T. (2012). Pre-accident investigations: An introduction to organizational safety. Ashgate.
Dekker, S. (2016). Just culture: Restoring trust and accountability in your organization (3rd ed.). CRC Press.
Edmondson, A. C. (1999). Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2), 350–383. doi:10.2307/2666999
Fire Safety Research Institute [FSRI]. (2025). Hierarchy of contamination controls in the fire service (presented by G. Horn) [Conference presentation]. CPSE Excellence Conference.
Hollnagel, E. (2014). Safety-I and Safety-II: The past and future of safety management. Ashgate.
International Agency for Research on Cancer [IARC]. (2014). Diesel and gasoline engine exhausts and some nitroarenes (IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans, Vol. 105; working group met June 2012). World Health Organization. https://publications.iarc.who.int/129
International Agency for Research on Cancer [IARC]. (2023). Occupational exposure as a firefighter (IARC Monographs on the Identification of Carcinogenic Hazards to Humans, Vol. 132; working group met June 2022). https://monographs.iarc.who.int
National Fire Protection Association. (2024). NFPA 1550, Standard for emergency responder health and safety (consolidates NFPA 1500, 1521 and 1561). https://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/nfpa-1550-standard-development/1550
National Fire Protection Association. (2025). NFPA 1580, Standard for emergency responder occupational health and wellness (consolidates NFPA 1581, 1582, 1583 and 1584). https://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/nfpa-1580-standard-development/1580
National Fire Protection Association. (2025). NFPA 1585, Standard for exposure and contamination control (first edition). https://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/nfpa-1585-standard-development/1585
National Fire Protection Association. (2026). NFPA 1850, Standard on selection, care, and maintenance of protective ensembles for structural and proximity firefighting and open-circuit self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) (consolidates NFPA 1851 and 1852). https://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/nfpa-1850-standard-development/1850