---
kind: "section"
citation: "29 C.F.R. § 1915.504"
title: "29"
number: "1915.504"
heading: "Fire watches."
url: "https://uscodex.org/cfr/29/1915.504"
---

# §1915.504. Fire watches.

- (a) **Written fire watch policy.** The employer must create and keep current a written policy that specifies the following requirements for employees performing fire watch in the workplace:
  - (1) The training employees must be given ([§ 1915.508(c)](/cfr/29/1915.508.md?p=c) contains detailed fire watch training requirements);
  - (2) The duties employees are to perform;
  - (3) The equipment employees must be given; and
  - (4) The personal protective equipment (PPE) that must be made available and worn as required by [29 CFR Part 1915](/cfr/29/part1915.md), Subpart I.
- (b) **Posting fire watches.** The employer must post a fire watch if during hot work any of the following conditions are present:
  - (1) Slag, weld splatter, or sparks might pass through an opening and cause a fire;
  - (2) Fire-resistant guards or curtains are not used to prevent ignition of combustible materials on or near decks, bulkheads, partitions, or overheads;
  - (3) **Combustible material closer than 35 ft.** (10.7m) to the hot work in either the horizontal or vertical direction cannot be removed, protected with flame-proof covers, or otherwise shielded with metal or fire-resistant guards or curtains;
  - (4) The hot work is carried out on or near insulation, combustible coatings, or sandwich-type construction that cannot be shielded, cut back, or removed, or in a space within a sandwich type construction that cannot be inerted;
  - (5) Combustible materials adjacent to the opposite sides of bulkheads, decks, overheads, metal partitions, or sandwich-type construction may be ignited by conduction or radiation;
  - (6) **The hot work is close enough to cause ignition through heat radiation or conduction on the following—**
    - (i) Insulated pipes, bulkheads, decks, partitions, or overheads; or
    - (ii) Combustible materials and/or coatings;
  - (7) The work is close enough to unprotected combustible pipe or cable runs to cause ignition; or
  - (8) A Marine Chemist, a Coast Guard-authorized person, or a shipyard Competent Person, as defined in [29 CFR Part 1915](/cfr/29/part1915.md), [Subpart B](/cfr/29/subpartB.md), requires that a fire watch be posted.
- (c) **Assigning employees to fire watch duty.**
  - (1) The employer must not assign other duties to a fire watch while the hot work is in progress.
  - (2) Employers must ensure that employees assigned to fire watch duty:
    - (i) Have a clear view of and immediate access to all areas included in the fire watch;
    - (ii) Are able to communicate with workers exposed to hot work;
    - (iii) Are authorized to stop work if necessary and restore safe conditions within the hot work area;
    - (iv) Remain in the hot work area for at least 30 minutes after completion of the hot work, unless the employer or its representative surveys the exposed area and makes a determination that there is no further fire hazard;
    - (v) Are trained to detect fires that occur in areas exposed to the hot work;
    - (vi) Attempt to extinguish any incipient stage fires in the hot work area that are within the capability of available equipment and within the fire watch's training qualifications, as defined in [§ 1915.508](/cfr/29/1915.508.md);
    - (vii) Alert employees of any fire beyond the incipient stage; and
    - (viii) If unable to extinguish fire in the areas exposed to the hot work, activate the alarm.
  - (3) The employer must ensure that employees assigned to fire watch are physically capable of performing these duties.

## Notes

### Source

Source: 69 FR 55702, Sept. 15, 2004, unless otherwise noted.

### Authority

Authority: 33 U.S.C. 941; 29 U.S.C. 653, 655, 657; Secretary of Labor's Order No. 12-71 (36 FR 8754); 8-76 (41 FR 25059), 9-83 (48 FR 35736), 1-90 (55 FR 9033), 6-96 (62 FR 111), 3-2000 (65 FR 50017), 5-2002 (67 FR 65008), 5-2007 (72 FR 31160), 4-2010 (75 FR 55355), 1-2012 (77 FR 3912), or 8-2020 (85 FR 58393); 29 CFR part 1911; and 5 U.S.C. 553, as applicable.

### Source

Source: 47 FR 16986, Apr. 20, 1982, unless otherwise noted.