Various standards and regulations directed at fire department operations over past years have required us to significantly change some of our operating procedures. Among them are the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 29 CFR 1910.134 Respiratory Protection Standard, which includes the two-in/two-out mandate that dictates that prior to commencing interior firefighting operations, two firefighters must enter the structure as a team and remain in direct voice or visual contact at all times and that at least two other fully equipped and trained firefighters remain outside the structure monitoring those inside and be ready to rescue the interior team if the need arises. The standard goes on to identify which actions the outside team can perform, what its members must wear, and conditions under which fire departments can deviate from the standard.
The state of Ohio, in which my department is located, is not an OSHA state. As such, we not required to meet the provision of that law. However, we have recognized that this specific standard establishes a "standard of care," which can make us liable if a firefighter were to be injured or killed and following this provision could have prevented the death or minimized injuries.
Our two-in/two-out policy states that "we will strive" to meet the following provisions:
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