Fire Plan.doc

STANDARD FIRE PLAN

1.

Fire Prevention During periods of contract performance, the following requirements shall be met by the contractor. The Forest Service will inform the contractor of the Fire Danger Rating.

2.

Execution of the Fire Plan

a. Forest Service personnel involved will, in all cases, coordinate through the Contracting Officer’s Representative, except in cases of emergency or Forest Closures.

b. The Contractor shall designate a Representative who shall be responsible for executing and carrying out this plan.

c. The contractor shall include this Fire Plan in all subcontracts.

d. The contractor shall assure that all contract employees are informed of the existence and condition of this Fire Plan.

3.

Compliance Inspection

a. Inspections by the Forest Service will be made to insure compliance with this plan.

b. Should any deficiencies appear during the inspection, the contractor will be informed and the deficiency shall be corrected within 24 hours. Activities with the potential to start fires shall be halted until deficiencies are corrected and the corrections approved by eh COR or a Fire Prevention Technician or other designee.

c. The contractors representative or otherwise designated contract employee who has been trained and is familiar with fire prevention techniques and procedures shall make daily inspections to ensure that the terms of this Fire Plan are met at all times.

4.

Fire Pre-suppression Requirements

a. Fire Tool Box

1. During contract performance, the contractor shall furnish and maintain one fire toolbox at the designated campsite or a central location where work is currently being performed. Expense of the fire toolbox is for the account of the contractor.

2. The Fire Tool Box is to be maintained with tools in good condition in the following quantities for each five people in the contractor’s work force. (This equipment is for the sole purpose of firefighting). Four Shovels, Two Axes, One Pulaski and Five 1-Gallon Canteens. Where needed a McLeod may be substituted for a shovel or axes.

3. The fire Tool Boxes shall be replenished by the contractor after each incident of Fire use.

b. Fire Guard

The contractor shall designate at least one representative to train and supervise each work crew in Fire Prevention, Detection and Suppression. To Prevent, Detect and Suppress Fires, the contractor shall provide a trained Fire Guard for projects involving internal combustion engines. The fire Guard shall constantly perform duties during operation hours and for 3 hours after work stops for the day when the Fire Precaution Plan is B, C, or D. Each Fire Guard shall be physically able, vigilant and trained to prevent, detect and report any fires, and to promptly and efficiently take suppression action with available fire fighting equipment and individuals on any fire that start on the project area. Each fireguard shall be equipped with a vehicle and a Fire Tool Cache consisting of a Fire Cache Box 2 size 0 shovels, 2 pulaskis, 2 McLeod’s and 2 four to five gallon backpack pumps filled with water). All equipment and tools are to be maintained in serviceable condition.

5.

Fire Suppression.

a. The contractor shall take independent action on the suppression of all fires in the work area or vicinity (one quarter mile outside work area).

b. All Forest Fires shall be reported to the District Rangers Office as soon as possible. Even though the fire has been suppressed by the contractor’s crew, this report is required. The office and telephone number to which fires shall be reported will be furnished to the contractor by the Forest Service prior to start of contact work.

6.

Equipment Requirements

a. All gasoline and diesel equipment (except turbo-charged) used on the project shall be equipped with Spark arresters approved in the SPARK ARRESTERS GUIDE, USDA- FS December1966.

b. All internal combustion engines are to be inspected before use on the job and periodically thereafter by the Forest Service. Equipment not passing inspection cannot be used on the project until repairs are made.

c. Serviceable baffled mufflers with standard exhaust tail pipes are considered adequate on trucks pickups and sedans.

d. Equipment service areas and fuel and oil storage areas are to be cleared of brush, litter, debris and grass for a radius of at least 50 feet.

e. Each piece of motorized equipment not included in item F, below, shall be equipped with a round shovel and a fire extinguisher.

f. The Fuel trucks, service trucks and the work camp shall be equipped with a shovel, double bit axe, class ABC pressurized chemical fire extinguisher of not less than 15 pounds capacity by weight.

The shovels and fire extinguisher in E and F, above, are in addition to those required in the toolbox. These shall be furnished and maintained at the contractor’s expense.

g. Power saws

1. Power saws shall be kept in a safe, serviceable condition at all times. Each power saw shall be equipped with an approved SPARK ARRESTOR MUFFLER SYSTEM MEETING THE SAE J-335b STANDARD.

2. The refueling of power saws shall be done on mineral soil and the saw shall be moved at least 10 feet from the refueling point to another barren spot before starting.

3. Power saws with warm or hot spark arrestors or mufflers) running or not) shall not be placed on sawdust piles, litter, duff, stumps or spots that are easily ignited.

4. Each power saw shall be accompanied with one round point shovel in good condition, a fuel safety container and one chemical pressurized extinguisher of not less than 8 ounces capacity by weight. The fire extinguisher is to be kept with the power saw operator at all times while working on the project. The shovel is to be kept with the fuel supply.

7.

Smoking and Fires

a. No Smoking shall be allowed while traveling except on surfaced highway and in vehicles that are equipped with ashtrays. A surfaced highway is any road that is oiled, graveled or otherwise paved. All tobacco shall be extinguished in the ashtray.

b. Smoking is not to be permitted while working. Smoking is only permitted on breaks, in areas having a clearing of at least 3 feet in diameter to bare soil. No warming, burning of debris or cooking fires are permitted during periods of High or above Fire danger, except in designated places or by written permission.

8.

Violations

a. Contractor will restrict operations in accordance with the attached Emergency Fire Precaution Schedule. The five-day average Energy release Component of the Fire Danger Rating System from a representative weather station will be applied to the table below using Fuel Model G. When there is a change, Forest Service shall inform the contractor by 6:00 p.m. of the predicted change in the Industrial Fire Precaution Plan. The procedure for the Forest Service to notify the Contractor of a change shall be agreed to in writing. The Contracting Officer may adjust the predicted Industrial Fire Precaution Plan for local weather conditions at the thinning area. Changes in the predicted Industrial Fire Precaution Plan shall be in writing.

b. The representative Weather Station will be identified in the legend of the Thinning Project Area. If the Contractor elects to install, or had access to, a fire weather station approved by the Forest Service, that is representative of the project area, the Industrial Fire Precaution Plan shall be governed by the five day average ERC determined by that station. Fire Weather Stations established and operated by the contractor shall meet the specifications and standard enumerated in the Fire Weather Observers Handbook (Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment station, Feb. 1972), which is available for inspection at the District Ranger Office. Records of such weather measurements shall be maintained and shall be made available to the Forest Service on request. The location and frequency of weather observations shall be agreed in writing.

EMERGENCY FIRE PRECAUTION SCHEDULE

FIVE-DAY AVERAGE ERC

BY FUEL MODEL

Area Closure Proclaimed by Regional Forester---------------------------Plan D

Red Flag Alert Issued by Forest Supervisor-------------------------------Plan D

Fire Precautions Plan

A. Normal Fire Precautions, no fire guard required

B. Normal Fire Precautions, except designated areas for smoking, warming and cooking fires require written permission. Contractor will provide Fire Guard.

C. Shutdown from 12:00 Noon, until 8:00 p.m., for all machine equipment for shearing, bunching, de-limbing, skidding, cable yarding, welding, metal cutting and clearing. No smoking, warming or cooking fires are permitted at any time. Power saws will shut down from 9:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m.; saws may be used for limbing on landings cleared to mineral soil from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

D. Shut down operations, except operations on mineral soil involving road excavation, watering, grading, surfacing and rock crushing may continue with special Forest Service permit.