WAC 296-305-02019
Life safety ropes, harnesses, and
hardware protection. (1) All life safety ropes, harnesses,
and hardware used by fire departments shall meet the
applicable requirements of NFPA 1983, Standard on Fire Service
Life Safety Rope, Harness, and Hardware, 1990 edition.
(2) Ropes used to support the weight of members or other
persons during rescue, firefighting, other emergency
operations, or during training evolutions shall be life safety
rope.
(3) Life safety rope used for rescue at fires, or other
emergency incidents, or for training, shall be permitted to be
reused if inspected before, and after, each such use in
accordance with the manufacturer's instructions and provided:
(a) The rope has not been visually damaged by the
exposure to heat, direct flame impingement, chemical exposure,
or abrasion.
(b) The rope has not been subjected to any impact load.
(c) The rope has not been exposed to chemical liquids,
solids, gases, mists, or vapors of any materials, known to
deteriorate rope.
(d) If the rope used for rescue at fires or other
emergency incidents, or for training, has been subjected to
(a), (b), or (c) of this section, or fails the visual
inspection, it shall be destroyed after such use.
(e) If there is any question regarding the serviceability
of the rope after consideration of the above, the safe course
of action shall be taken and the rope shall be placed out of
service. See Appendix B.
(f) Rope inspection shall be conducted by qualified
inspectors in accordance with rope inspection procedures
established and recommended as adequate by the rope
manufacturer to assure rope is suitable for reuse.
(4) Fire departments shall establish written procedures
for the use of life safety ropes and rescue operations
utilizing harnesses and ropes.
(5) Records shall provide a history of each life safety
and training rope. The minimum information to be reflected in
the record of history of life safety and training ropes shall
include: Date of manufacturer, organization serial number,
use list to include inspectors name and space for comments.
(6) Rope used for training evolutions shall be designated
as training rope and shall be permitted to be reused if
inspected before and after each use in accordance with the
manufacturer's instructions.
(7) The destruction of a rope means that it shall be
removed from service and altered in such a manner that it
could not be mistakenly used as a life safety rope. This
includes disposal or removal of labels and cutting into short
lengths to be used for utility purposes.
(8) All repairs to life safety harnesses shall be done by
an authorized manufacturer's representative, or the
manufacturer.
Note:
See WAC 296-305-06003 (3), (4), (5), and (6) for the testing of life belts, ropes, and harnesses.
(9) Class I safety harnesses shall be used for
firefighter attachment to ladders and aerial devices.
(10) Class II and Class III life safety harnesses shall
be utilized for fall arrest and rappelling operations.
(11) Rescue ropes shall be padded when deployed over
edges or rough surfaces.