Checklist - Working at Heights and Fall Protection | Fire Service Safety Management System

1. Scope

This checklist audits Working at Heights and Fall Protection Program (FSSMS-PRG-14) and Policy - Working at Heights (FSSMS-POL-16): the written position on emergency operations, the fall hazard inventory, procedures and plans, ground ladders, aerial devices, roof operations, apparatus tops, training towers and station work, fall protection equipment, rescue after a fall, training and cards, learning, psychological safety and the accountability loop. It is one of three sub-notes of audit category 14, Technical Rescue: Heights, Confined Space and Water (02 Audit Checklist Master Index), and its items roll up into the category 14 row with Checklist - Confined Space, Trench and Rope Rescue and Checklist - Water, Ice and Marine Operations.

It leaves rope rescue systems, anchors for live loads and rope logs to Checklist - Confined Space, Trench and Rope Rescue, except the code of practice link and the edge tie-in rule (item 8); the fleet inspection regime as a whole to Checklist - Monitoring, Inspection and Indicators; and incident command and the incident safety officer to Checklist - Emergency Operations Safety.

The internal audit runs it annually under 01 Audit Program, with the Technical Rescue program manager and the JOHSC consultant present, and an independent reviewer every three years. Sampling follows 01 Audit Program section 8: every aerial device; 10 percent or 30 records, whichever is larger, of ladder records and equipment cards; at least three interviews; and one observation of an aerial, roof prop or tower evolution, or of hose loading at shift change.

2. Criteria

The CFAI column crosswalks each item to the 10th edition performance indicator it answers (CPSE, 2019); the 11th edition will be mapped when it applies.

Source	What it requires	Items
The applicable OHS statute and fall protection regulation (J06 Written Procedures and Committee Consultation; J08 Incident Reporting and Investigation; J16 Fall Protection and Rope Access)	Threshold and worse-surface rule; written procedure and plan; anchorage; equipment standards; inspection; training and cards; the conditions of any emergency relief; reporting	2, 3, 6 to 8, 23, 26 to 33, 35, 38, 39
Firefighter-specific equipment rules in the applicable regulation (J15 Equipment Inspection, Ladders and Aerial Devices; J16 Fall Protection and Rope Access)	Aerial harness; post-use harness inspection; ground ladder standard; aerial device standard or engineer’s certification	11, 12, 15 to 17, 30
CSA Z259.17 and Z259.16 (CSA Z259.17:21; CSA Z259.16:21)	Written program, hierarchy, selection and compatibility, inspection, removal from service and rescue after a fall; engineered anchors	1, 4, 26, 28 to 34
NFPA 1930 (NFPA 1930, 2024)	Ground ladder use, maintenance and service testing	10 to 14
NFPA 1910 and NFPA 1900 (NFPA 1910, 2024; NFPA 1900, 2024)	In-service aerial inspection and testing; apparatus steps, handrails and hose beds	15, 16, 24
NFPA 2500 (NFPA 2500, 2022, ch. 24 to 28)	Life safety harnesses used for rescue and on aerial devices	28 to 30
NFPA 1010 and NFPA 1550 (NFPA 1010, 2024; NFPA 1550, 2024)	Ladder, ventilation and aerial operator job performance requirements; the safety program, risk management and the incident safety officer	20 to 22, 36, 37
Benchmarks: the fire-service rules and interpretations of some jurisdictions that go further than the general fall protection rules (J15 Equipment Inspection, Ladders and Aerial Devices; J16 Fall Protection and Rope Access), and the firefighter guidance notes (MLITSD, n.d., GN 4-11, GN 6-14, GN 6-29)	A short fall limit on aerial ladders, a 12-month aerial test and the operator at the lower controls; anchor labelling and no travel restraint on aerial ladders; roof operations; falls from apparatus; training is not an emergency	2, 15, 17 to 19, 21, 24, 25
Accreditation criteria	Apparatus maintenance by trained technicians (CPSE, 2019, criteria CC 6D.1, CC 6D.5); safety equipment maintained and tracked (CPSE, 2019, criteria 6F.4, 6F.5); a named person for the safety program, hazard reporting, documented risk reduction, safety training, near-miss learning, investigation and risk management at incidents (CPSE, 2019, criteria 11A.1 to 11A.3, CC 11A.5, 11A.6 to 11A.8)	CFAI column
Psychological safety as a condition of safety (Edmondson, 1999)DOI	Members can stop height work and get an answer to a concern, without reprisal	41
The department’s own policy and program	Its commitments are the first test for every item	All

3. How to score

Score D, I and E for each item 0 to 3, then derive the item score (01 Audit Program section 5).
Both-required evidence codes (D+I, D+O, O+I) need each type before I can exceed 1.
Weights C3, K2, S1; L items must score at least 2 or the category fails its legislated floor.
Category score = sum(weight x item score) / sum(weight x 3); the effectiveness index uses E.
Record a finding, owner and due date for every item below 3, and give each finding its grade and priority (01 Audit Program section 6): a major nonconformity is P1 (Imminent) or P2 (Serious) by risk, a minor nonconformity P3 (Moderate), an opportunity for improvement P4 (Improvement). Every finding enters the Corrective Action Register within five working days (a P1 the day it is found), with the due dates its priority sets.

4. Checklist

#	Item	Stage	Wt	Evid	CFAI	Scoring anchors (1 / 2 / 3)
A. Program, position and inventory
1	The program is adopted, approved by the fire chief, consulted with the JOHSC, owned by the deputy chief, operations through a named program manager, and reviewed on the policy cycle	S1	K2	D	11A.1	1: draft or unsigned / 2: approved and current, owner named / 3: reviewed on schedule, with minutes showing JOHSC consultation on the last revision
2	A written position records how the applicable fall protection regulation applies to emergency response, training and station work (J16 Fall Protection and Rope Access): the regulation applies, any relief is narrow and conditional, and training gets none	S1	C3 L	D+I	-	1: unwritten, or says the law does not apply at fires / 2: written and cited by the procedure / 3: three officers interviewed state it correctly, including that training is not an emergency
3	The fall hazard inventory lists every recurring height task with fall distance, surface below, control chosen, governing procedure and rescue method, reviewed within 12 months and after the last apparatus, station or prop change	S1	C3 L	D	11A.3	1: partial list / 2: complete and reviewed within 12 months / 3: a change made after the last review is traceable to it
4	Controls follow the hierarchy, and the inventory records the reason wherever elimination, guardrails or travel restraint were not used	S1	K2	D+O	11A.3	1: no reasons recorded / 2: reasons recorded for every lower control / 3: a sampled task observed using the recorded control
5	The Technical Rescue Program Improvement Team runs the program: four quarterly updates and an annual appraisal in the last year, presented to the senior team and the JOHSC	S2	S1	D	11A.1	1: team named only / 2: updates on file / 3: the appraisal led to a recorded decision
B. Procedures, plans and code of practice
6	A written fall protection procedure covers each recurring task below the plan threshold the applicable regulation sets and contains every item on its content list	S1	C3 L	D	11A.2	1: some tasks covered / 2: every inventory task covered / 3: content checked against the regulation’s list and revised after the last fall or near miss
7	A written fall protection plan covers every work area at or above the plan threshold (towers, aerial training positions, roof props, station roofs) with clearance, swing fall, inspection schedule, competent person, weather limits and rescue	S1	C3 L	D+O	11A.2	1: no plan / 2: one overall plan covers every area / 3: the last three tower evolutions show the plan’s systems and rescue set-up in use
8	The rope access code of practice exists, is cross-referenced by the fall protection procedure and the program, and contains the edge tie-in rule	S1	C3 L	D+O	-	1: absent / 2: present and cross-referenced / 3: revision date recorded in the program, and members tied in at the edge at a sampled drill
9	Procedures were written or revised with the crews who do the work: a learning-team write-up that names no individuals precedes each revision in the last three years	S2	S1	D+I	-	1: written by staff alone / 2: write-ups for some revisions / 3: every revision has one, and members interviewed recognize their input
C. Ground ladders
10	The ground ladder inventory lists every ladder by asset tag and serial, with type, length, date in service and test status	S1	K2	D	CC 6D.5	1: partial / 2: complete / 3: reconciled to every apparatus within 12 months
11	Company inspections are recorded monthly for at least 90 percent of ladders, and ladders used at a fire are inspected after the call	S1	K2 L	D+O	CC 6D.1	1: no records / 2: 90 percent in the sampled months / 3: an inspection observed done to the record’s checklist
12	Every ladder has a service test within 12 months and after every heat exposure, overload, impact or suspected damage, by a qualified tester, recorded by serial on Form - Ladder and Aerial Inspection and Test Record; failed ladders stayed out of service until retested or retired	S1	C3 L	D	CC 6D.1	1: tests missing or overdue / 2: 100 percent current / 3: after-event tests traced to the event reports, and the failure pattern reviewed
13	The climbing rules are practised: ladder heeled or tied whenever occupied, climbing angle near 75 degrees, leg lock or belt before working with both hands	S1	C3	O+I	11A.8	1: in the procedure only / 2: members state the rules / 3: observed at a drill or incident with no exception
14	Heat sensor labels are intact and checked; a doubtful ladder is tagged out the same day; a work order is raised before a test expires	S1	S1	O	-	1: labels missing / 2: labels intact on sampled ladders / 3: a tagged ladder traced to its repair or retirement
D. Aerial devices
15	Every aerial device has a third-party inspection and non-destructive test certificate dated within 12 months, an after-event test for every collision, overload or structural repair, and the longer-cycle full test where the standard requires it	S1	C3 L	D	CC 6D.1	1: a certificate missing / 2: current for every device / 3: after-event tests traced, and certificates kept for the life of the apparatus
16	Where an engineer’s certification is relied on instead of the test standard, the letter is on file and renewed on the engineer’s interval (not applicable if not relied on)	S1	K2 L	D	CC 6D.5	1: relied on but not on file / 2: on file / 3: renewed on time
17	The belt-or-harness rule is practised: ladder belt or short positioning lanyard on aerial ladders; full-body harness clipped to the labelled platform anchor before the platform leaves the bed	S1	C3 L	D+O	11A.8	1: in the procedure only / 2: observed for most members / 3: observed with no exception, and riders name the anchor they use
18	A qualified operator stays at the lower controls whenever a member is on the device, and the device moves only after the operator and that member confirm	S1	C3	O+I	11A.8	1: in the procedure only / 2: operators state the rule / 3: observed throughout an evolution, including repositioning
19	Anchor points on every aerial device are labelled for restraint or arrest by the manufacturer or an engineer, and the procedure says which to use for which task	S1	K2	D+O	-	1: unlabelled / 2: labelled on every device / 3: labels checked within the year and matched to the procedure
20	Aerial operators hold the manufacturer’s training and the operator job performance requirements, with annual proficiency on each device type covering set-up, stabilizers, load charts and the department’s electrical clearance	S1	C3	D+I	CC 11A.5	1: records incomplete / 2: every operator current / 3: two operators interviewed state the load and clearance limits for their device
E. Roof operations
21	The roof procedure requires a construction and burn-time size-up before anyone goes up, bars work over fire-involved lightweight or engineered roofs, and requires a roof officer, sounding, two egress routes and thermal imagers for fire location only	S1	C3	D+I	11A.8	1: a rule missing / 2: procedure complete / 3: three officers state the no-go rules, and members name the second egress at the last roof job
22	Incident records for roof operations in the last year show the size-up decision (construction, burn time, decision) and an after-action review	S1	K2	D	11A.8	1: no size-up recorded / 2: recorded for most / 3: recorded for all, with a lesson carried into training
23	Roof prop training uses fall arrest or travel restraint to rated anchors in every evolution	S1	C3 L	D+O	-	1: occasionally / 2: in the training plan / 3: observed in every sampled evolution
F. Apparatus tops, training towers and station work
24	Ground-level hose loading is the default at each station, and hose bed railings or covers were assessed with the JOHSC for every apparatus type	S1	K2	D+O	11A.3	1: members load on top by habit / 2: assessment on file / 3: ground-level loading observed, with a retrofit decision recorded
25	Nobody rides on an apparatus top or rear step or stands on a moving apparatus, and three-point mounting and dismounting is practised	S1	K2	O+I	-	1: rule stated only / 2: members state it / 3: observed at shift change and on scene
26	Training towers and props have an engineer’s structural inspection on the set cycle, rated and labelled anchors, a pre-evolution inspection record (SWP - Training Tower and Prop Inspection) and a training safety officer with authority to stop	S1	C3 L	D+O	11A.3	1: no engineer’s report / 2: report and anchor records current / 3: a stopped evolution or a corrected deficiency on record
27	Station maintenance at height uses a fixed stair, platform lift or scaffold before a ladder, a second person for any ladder, and fall arrest or guardrails near roof edges, hatches and skylights; contractors work under the contractor program	S1	K2 L	D+O	-	1: no rule / 2: rule and equipment in place / 3: the last bay-light or roof task followed it
G. Fall protection equipment
28	The equipment inventory lists every harness, belt, lanyard, energy absorber, self-retracting device, connector, anchor connector and lifeline with standard and class, serial, date in service and service life, and components in each system are compatible	S1	K2 L	D	6F.5	1: partial / 2: complete / 3: three sampled items match the inventory and their cards
29	Members inspect their equipment before every use and can show how	S1	K2 L	O+I	-	1: not practised / 2: members describe it / 3: observed before an evolution
30	Every harness worn for firefighting or rescue was inspected by a competent person before reuse, and the card shows it	S1	C3 L	D	6F.4	1: no post-use entries / 2: complete for a sample of ten fires with aerial or rope use / 3: the competent person describes the last removal from service
31	Competent-person periodic inspections are on schedule (six months, or the manufacturer’s interval if shorter) and recorded on Form - Fall Protection Equipment Inspection Card	S1	K2 L	D	6F.4	1: overdue / 2: current in the sample / 3: current for every item, with the next date set
32	Items that arrested a fall, took an impact, met heat, flame or chemicals, failed inspection or raised doubt were removed, tagged and quarantined; items are retired at service life	S1	C3	D+O	6F.4	1: no quarantine practice / 2: quarantine records exist / 3: no item past its service life or under open quarantine found in service
H. Rescue after a fall
33	A written rescue procedure exists for every location where fall arrest is used, naming the method and the designated capability (aerial crew, rope team)	S1	C3 L	D+I	-	1: none / 2: one for every arrest location / 3: crews interviewed describe the method for their location
34	Each aerial and rope crew completed a timed suspended-member rescue drill in the last year, and members who use fall arrest are trained on suspension relief steps	S2	K2	D+O	-	1: no drill / 2: every crew drilled / 3: times recorded and trending down
I. Training and competency
35	Every operational member has fall protection training within the interval the applicable regulation sets, delivered by a competent instructor with an evaluation, and a signed card available at the workplace	S1	C3 L	D+I	CC 11A.5	1: records incomplete / 2: 100 percent current / 3: five members picked at random produce current cards at the station
36	Task training is current: ground ladder skills, roof operations and aerial riding, each annual	S1	K2	D	CC 11A.5	1: some current / 2: all current / 3: skills sheets signed by qualified instructors
37	Company officers completed the supervising-height-work module within six months of appointment and every three years	S2	K2	D+I	CC 11A.5	1: not delivered / 2: delivered to most / 3: officers describe their stop-work response and the post-use inspection duty
38	Competent-person inspectors and fall protection instructors are named in writing with their basis of competence on file	S1	K2 L	D	11A.1	1: not named / 2: named / 3: named, with records reviewed within three years
J. Learning, psychological safety and the loop
39	Every fall, arrested fall, aerial moved with an unattached member, conductor contact, ladder or anchor failure and near miss in the last year was reported within the shift, reviewed at the right tier and reported to the regulator where the law requires (J08 Incident Reporting and Investigation)	S1	K2 L	D+I	11A.6, 11A.7	1: events found that were not reported / 2: reported and reviewed / 3: each review produced a change or a recorded reason for none
40	The program’s indicators are reported quarterly against a baseline, and the last appraisal acted on at least one trend	S2	K2	D	11A.3	1: not reported / 2: reported quarterly / 3: a trend led to a decision in the last year
41	Psychological safety. Members say they can stop a climb, a roof assignment, an aerial movement or hose loading, and officers acknowledge without argument; stop calls and good catches for height work are recorded, acknowledged in debriefs and above zero; concerns get an answer within 15 days; no reprisal case in the last year	S1	K2	D+I	11A.2	1: none recorded / 2: some recorded, answers late / 3: members at a career and a volunteer station describe a stop call or concern and its answer; reply log on time; no reprisal findings
42	Accountability and closed feedback loop. The program’s loop table names one line owner, doers, verifiers with frequencies, a feedback path with cycle times (including the 15-day answer to the member) and a closure rule with escalation on the register’s priority scale; every deficiency from ladder tests, aerial certificates, card checks, near misses and audits is in the register with an owner and due date	S1	K2	D+I	11A.1, 11A.2, 11A.3	1: table present, roles blank / 2: table complete and the owner can explain it / 3: a real concern from the last year traced from report to verified closure, reply to the member and change notice

Loop test. Walk the program’s loop test (Working at Heights and Fall Protection Program section 12) with the owner on a real event from the last year. If none exists, use this one: a firefighter reports on Monday that a ground ladder on a reserve engine has no current test label and a darkened heat sensor label. The ladder should be tagged out that day; the item should be in the register within five working days with the program manager as owner; the firefighter should have an answer within 15 days; and within 30 days every ladder on every reserve apparatus should have been checked against the inventory, with the change notice and the quarterly update showing the closure.

5. Effectiveness questions

Answer from observation or interview only; record the evidence.

Watch height work as it happens. At an aerial, roof prop or tower evolution, or during hose loading at shift change, watch every member at height for the whole task. Was each one attached or protected as the procedure requires at every moment, and did the device move with anyone unattached? The program is working when the answer holds for every member without the crew knowing which item is being scored.
Ask three members separately, one of them a volunteer: “Show me your fall protection card. When did your crew last decide not to go to a roof or not to climb, and what happened next?” The program is working when the cards are current and at the station and each member names a real decision and a supportive response.
Ask a company officer and a member: “Tell me about the last concern anyone raised about ladders, aerials, harnesses or roof work. What happened to it, and how did the person who raised it find out?” The program is working when both describe a concern, its answer and how long it took; it is not working when neither can think of one.

6. Interview and observation prompts

(Program manager) Walk me through the fall hazard inventory and the reason for every control below travel restraint.
(Company officer) Show me last month’s ladder inspection for this apparatus and the last service test for this ladder.
(Fleet services) Show me this aerial’s certificate, its after-event tests and the date the anchor labels were last checked.
(Aerial operator) What do you do before you move the device with someone on it, and where are you while members are aloft?
(Aerial rider) Which anchor do you use for which task on this device, and where is the label?
(Roof officer) Tell me about the last roof you sent a crew to, or did not. What did you know about the construction and the fire?
(Training officer) Show me the pre-evolution inspection for the last tower evolution and the rescue set-up for a suspended member.
(Competent person) Show me the card for the harness used at the last fire with aerial or rope work. What did you look for?
(Observe) Hose loading at shift change: from the ground or on top; attachment; three points of contact.
(Observe) A suspended-member rescue drill, timed from the call to the member on the ground.
(Everyone) Who would you tell if you saw height work done unsafely tomorrow, and what would happen?
(Everyone) What one thing about ladders, aerials, roofs or harnesses would you fix first?

Jurisdiction requirements

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
Written Procedures and Committee Consultation	Whether written fall protection procedures, plans and codes of practice are required, what makes them adequate, and whether the committee must be consulted when they are set or revised (items 6 to 9)	J06 Written Procedures and Committee Consultation
Incident Reporting and Investigation	Whether a fall, or a fall from a work area where fall protection is required, must be reported to the regulator, how fast, and what must be preserved and investigated (item 39)	J08 Incident Reporting and Investigation
Equipment Inspection, Ladders and Aerial Devices	Inspection before use and by a competent person, how long inspection records are kept, the ground ladder and aerial device standards or engineer’s certification, and any service-test interval (items 10 to 16, 28 to 31)	J15 Equipment Inspection, Ladders and Aerial Devices
Fall Protection and Rope Access	The height at which fall protection is required and the worse-surface rule; when a written procedure or site-specific plan is needed and what it contains; any relief for emergency services and its conditions; anchorage and equipment standards; the training interval and card; and the aerial and rescue harness rules (items 2 to 8, 17, 23, 26 to 33, 35, 38)	J16 Fall Protection and Rope Access

References

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

CSA Group. (2021). CSA Z259.16:21, Design of active fall-protection systems (3rd ed.). https://www.csagroup.org/store/product/CSA%20Z259.16:21/

CSA Group. (2021). CSA Z259.17:21, Selection and use of active fall-protection equipment and systems (2nd ed.). https://www.csagroup.org/store/product/CSA%20Z259.17:21/

Edmondson, A. C. (1999). Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2), 350–383. doi:10.2307/2666999

National Fire Protection Association. (2022). NFPA 2500, Standard for operations and training for technical search and rescue incidents and life safety rope and equipment for emergency services (consolidates NFPA 1670, 1858 and 1983). https://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/nfpa-2500-standard-development/2500

National Fire Protection Association. (2024). NFPA 1010, Standard on professional qualifications for firefighters (consolidates NFPA 1001, 1002, 1003 and 1005). https://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/nfpa-1010-standard-development/1010

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. (2024). NFPA 1900, Standard for aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicles, automotive fire apparatus, wildland fire apparatus, and automotive ambulances (consolidates NFPA 414, 1901, 1906 and 1917). https://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/nfpa-1900-standard-development/1900

National Fire Protection Association. (2024). NFPA 1910, Standard for the inspection, maintenance, refurbishment, testing, and retirement of in-service emergency vehicles and marine firefighting vessels (consolidates NFPA 1071, 1911, 1912 and 1925). https://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/nfpa-1910-standard-development/1910

National Fire Protection Association. (2024). NFPA 1930, Standard on fire and emergency service use of thermal imagers, two-way portable RF voice communication devices, ground ladders, rescue tools, fire hose, and fire hose appliances (consolidates NFPA 1931, 1932, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964 and 1965, among others). https://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/nfpa-1930-standard-development/1930

Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development [MLITSD]. (n.d.). Firefighter guidance notes (Section 21 Advisory Committee; individual notes revised to 2026). https://www.ontario.ca/document/firefighter-guidance-notes