SWP - Fall Protection on Apparatus and at Heights

Any non-emergency work at height that is not covered by the ladder, aerial or roof procedures: loading and packing hose beds; retrieving or stowing equipment on apparatus tops; working on training towers and elevated props; station maintenance at height (bay lights, mezzanines, roof hatches, gutters, flagpoles); working at the edge of docks, embankments and dry hydrant pits. These are ordinary work, and the applicable fall protection regulation applies to them in full, without any relief a jurisdiction gives to emergency response (J16 Fall Protection and Rope Access). The written procedure in Working at Heights and Fall Protection Program section 17.2 and the plan in 17.3 are completed for each task; this SWP is the crew-level version.

• Falls from apparatus tops and hose beds (2 to 3.5 m onto concrete or equipment); stepping backward off the edge; slips on wet, icy or hose-strewn surfaces; striking bay fans, heaters, doors and overhead lines.
• Falls from training tower landings, open faces, stairs and roof props.
• Falls from ladders and platform lifts during station maintenance; falls through roof hatches and skylights.
• Falls into water, pits and down embankments at dry hydrants and docks.
• Dropped objects onto members below.

1. Elimination. Load hose from the ground with the bed lowered, from a loading platform or from a hose cart; store frequently used equipment at ground level; use a camera pole for roof checks; keep members off apparatus tops at incidents.
2. Guardrails and fixed protection. Hose bed railings or covers where feasible (assessed with the JOHSC for every apparatus type); guardrails on tower landings, decks and mezzanines; hatch covers and skylight screens.
3. Travel restraint. Harness or belt and a lanyard to a rated apparatus or tower anchor sized so the member cannot reach the edge; the default where someone must be on top.
4. Fall arrest. Full-body harness, energy-absorbing lanyard or self-retracting device to a rated anchor with the clearance calculated, and a rescue plan; required on open tower faces, roof props and roof edges where restraint cannot be arranged (CSA Z259.17:21; CSA Z259.16:21).
5. Administrative. This procedure; the fewest members on top; three points of contact; the stop-and-assess rule for wet and icy surfaces; a second person for ladder work; a platform lift before a ladder for station maintenance; a spotter below.
6. PPE. Footwear with grip; gloves; helmet or hard hat where objects can fall; harness or belt to the CSA Z259 part for the system (CSA Z259.10:18; CSA Z259.11-17; CSA Z259.12:16), inspected before use.

As section 3 for the system chosen; the fall protection equipment inspection card (Form - Fall Protection Equipment Inspection Card); wheel chocks and a level parking spot for apparatus-top work; a hose loading platform or ground-level method where the department has one; a platform lift or a stepladder rated for the task and a second person for station maintenance; a PFD within the water’s-edge distance at docks, embankments and dry hydrants (Water, Ice and Swiftwater Rescue Program).

The company officer or the training officer in charge; every member with current fall protection training on the interval the applicable regulation sets and a card at the station; a competent person to confirm the anchor and the system before fall arrest is used; a spotter on the ground for apparatus-top work and a second person for every ladder.

A. Apparatus tops and hose beds

1. Ask whether anyone needs to be on top. Load from the ground wherever the bed, the platform or the method allows. Decision point: if the job can be done from the ground, it is.
2. Park level, brake, chock; identify bay fans, heaters, doors and anything overhead; dry the walking surface or stop if it is iced and cannot be cleared.
3. The fewest members needed go up; mount and dismount with three points of contact using the steps and handrails, never the bumper, the pump panel or a tire.
4. Attach to the labelled apparatus anchor with travel restraint where the apparatus has one; where it has none, the officer records why and the work is done from the centre of the top, facing outward, never walking backward, with a spotter below calling the edge.
5. Hose is passed up, not thrown; tools and nozzles are handed, not tossed; nobody is on top while the apparatus moves, and nobody rides the top or the rear step.
6. Come down the same way; report any slip, missing grip tape, loose handrail or broken step to fleet.

B. Training towers and elevated props

7. The training safety officer completes the pre-evolution inspection (SWP - Training Tower and Prop Inspection): guardrails, hatches, anchors (labelled and in date), surfaces, weather.
8. The fall protection plan for the tower names the system for each evolution; every member on an open face, a roof prop or a landing without guardrails is in travel restraint or fall arrest to a rated anchor before stepping out; the system is checked by a second trained person.
9. Emergency habits do not carry over: the evolution is not an emergency, and nobody works unprotected because “that is how we do it on the fireground”.
10. The training safety officer stops any evolution on any unprotected exposure, and the rescue plan for a suspended member (aerial pick-off, lowering) is ready before the evolution begins.

C. Station maintenance at height

11. Use a fixed stair, a platform lift or a scaffold before a ladder; use a ladder only with a second person footing it and three points of contact; never stand on the top two rungs.
12. Within reach of a roof edge, a skylight or a hatch: fall arrest to a rated anchor (or a guardrail system) with the clearance calculated; the plan for the station roof covers it; contractors follow Contractor and Mutual Aid Safety Program.
13. Energy sources (bay lights, fans, doors) locked out before work (SWP - Lockout and Shop Safety).

D. Docks, embankments and dry hydrant pits

14. PFD on within the water’s-edge distance; travel restraint where the bank is steep or the edge is unprotected; a second member present; the pit or the dock edge guarded or marked.

• Fall from an apparatus top or a ladder: medical response; do not move the member except from immediate danger; report and review.
• Arrested fall on a tower or a roof: the rescue plan in the fall protection plan is executed at once (aerial pick-off, lowering from above, ladder rescue); the suspended member deploys relief steps if trained and able; medical for every arrested fall; the harness and lanyard are removed from service.
• Fall into water: the water rescue progression (Water, Ice and Swiftwater Rescue Program); reach and throw first.

Every fall, arrested fall and near miss is reported before the end of the shift and reviewed (Tier 2 for any arrested fall or any fall with injury). Apparatus defects go to fleet by work order. Fall protection equipment used is logged on its card; any item that arrested a fall is removed from service and recorded. The fall protection procedure and plan for each task are kept with the program records.

Fall protection training on the interval the applicable regulation sets for every operational member; the hands-on component on the department’s own apparatus and tower; training safety officers trained in the pre-evolution inspection and the rescue plan. The Technical Rescue and the Training Safety Program Improvement Teams review this procedure jointly every three years, after any fall, and on any new apparatus or prop; the JOHSC is consulted and assesses hose bed railings and covers with the team.

Working at Heights and Fall Protection Program; Policy - Working at Heights; SWP - Training Tower and Prop Inspection; SWP - Lockout and Shop Safety; Facilities and Station Safety Program; Training Safety and Live Fire Program; Form - Fall Protection Equipment Inspection Card; Checklist - Working at Heights and Fall Protection.

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.