Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 001B Hazard: EXPLOSION

North Carolina General Statute 95-129(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of North Carolina: The employer did not furnish each of his employees conditions of employment and a place of employment free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees in that employees were exposed to an improperly tested fire hose used in an emergency situation: a)fire scene, 7129 Linda Ray Rd., Zebulon, October 3, 2002 and fire station - where a Rolesville Rural Fire Department firefighter used a 25-foot piece of 3-inch double jacket hose to receive water from a Wendell Fire Department tanker and that hose along with other in-service fire hoses such as an Angus 50-foot, 3-inch rubber hose were tested at a service test pressure of 200 psi instead of the required 250 psi and 300 psi, respectively. Some feasible and acceptable abatement methods to correct this hazard, are to provide a written policy on service testing hose, recheck all in-service hose and retest as necessary, and ensure all hose testing equipment is calibrated and up-to-date. (Reference: Section 5-1.3 of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1962 Standard for the Care, Use, and Service Testing of Fire Hose Including Couplings and Nozzles, 1998 Edition).