Glossary - Cal/OSHA Fire Safety and Emergency Evacuation Training

A temporary safeguard, such as posting a fire watch or providing a ready hose system, that an employer must provide when portable fire extinguishers are removed from service for maintenance or recharging.

A designated safe location away from the building, such as a parking lot or open field, where employees report after evacuating so they can be accounted for.

The local fire code official or other designated authority responsible for enforcing the California Fire Code and any local amendments in a given city, county, or fire district.

Electronic sensors that detect smoke, heat, or flame from a developing fire and alert building occupants and emergency personnel before extensive damage occurs.

Attaching a wire between two containers to equalize their electrical potential and dissipate static electricity when transferring flammable or combustible liquids between them.

Part 9 of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations; sets requirements for fire prevention, fire protection, life safety, and hazardous materials in buildings and premises, and is enforced by local fire authorities.

The self-sustaining reaction between fuel, oxygen, and heat that produces more heat and burns more fuel until one of the four fire tetrahedron components is removed.

A fire fueled by ordinary combustible materials such as wood, cloth, paper, rubber, and many plastics.

A fire fueled by flammable or combustible liquids and gases, such as petroleum greases, tars, oils, oil-based paints, solvents, lacquers, and alcohols.

A fire involving energized electrical equipment.

A fire involving combustible metals, such as magnesium, titanium, zirconium, sodium, lithium, and potassium.

A 2½″ (6.3 cm) hose connection for use by fire departments and those trained to handle heavy fire streams.

A 1½″ (3.8 cm) hose system that provides a means to control or extinguish incipient-stage fires.

A combined system of hoses, with both 1½″ and 2½″ outlets, for use by employees trained in hose operations and capable of furnishing effective water discharge during more advanced stages of fire.

A fire in cooking appliances that involves combustible cooking media, such as vegetable or animal oils and fats.

An exothermic (heat-producing) chemical reaction between fuel and oxygen.

Heat transfer through direct contact between materials.

Heat transfer through a circulating medium (liquid or gas) moving from an area of higher temperature to an area of lower temperature.

The stage of a fire in which the fuel or oxygen supply is depleted, and the fire begins to die out, though hazards such as re-ignition or backdraft can still be present.

A plan required by Title 8 CCR Section 3220 that organizes employer and employee actions during a workplace emergency, including evacuation, reporting, and accounting procedures. The plan must be written, except that employers with 10 or fewer employees may communicate it orally.

Lighting that activates automatically when normal power fails so that occupants can still see and follow exit routes during an emergency.

A plan, in addition to an EAP, for employers who train employees to fight fires beyond the incipient stage or respond to a larger-scale incident, such as an in-house fire brigade.

A system that alerts employees to an emergency so they can evacuate or take other action under the emergency action plan; required by Title 8 CCR Section 3220(c) and Section 6184, using a distinctive signal for each purpose.

A person assigned to a floor, department, or area who helps employees evacuate, checks that the area is clear if safe, and reports the area's status. Also called an area monitor.

The portion of an exit route that is generally separated from other areas to provide a protected way of travel to the exit discharge.

The portion of an exit route that leads to an exit.

The part of an exit route that leads directly outside, or to a street, walkway, refuge area, public way, or open space with access to the outside.

A continuous and unobstructed path of exit travel from any point within a workplace to a place of safety, including refuge areas.

A sign that marks the way out along an exit route; exit signs must be visible from the route and kept lit (Title 8 CCR Section 3216).

An organized group of employees trained and equipped for interior structural firefighting, regulated under Title 8 CCR Section 3411, Private Fire Brigades.

Procedures used to prevent fire by controlling the variables that lead to it.

A written plan, required by Title 8 CCR Section 3221, that identifies fire hazards in the workplace and lays out the strategies used to control them.

Procedures used to control a fire after ignition by separating the elements that lead to a fire.

A broad term that includes fire prevention, fire protection, and emergency procedures to follow in case of fire.

The four elements needed to initiate and sustain a fire: fuel, oxygen, heat, and chemical chain reaction.

The three original components of fire identified by the NFPA — fuel, heat, and oxygen — later expanded into the fire tetrahedron.

An employee posted to monitor a work area for fire hazards, such as during hot work operations, when combustible materials cannot be removed or fully shielded.

A system that extinguishes a developing fire by automatically filling the protected area with a gas or chemical extinguishing agent.

The minimum temperature at which a liquid gives off vapor within a test vessel in sufficient concentration to form an ignitable mixture with air near the surface of the liquid (Title 8 CCR Section 5415).

A material that readily burns in a normal atmosphere; it can be found in solid, liquid, or gaseous forms.

The stage of a fire in which all available fuel in the area is burning and heat output is at its peak.

The stage of a fire in which it spreads beyond its point of origin and heat and smoke increase rapidly.

Providing a clear electrical path from a container to the ground, by direct contact or with a grounding wire, rod, or cold-water pipe, so that static electricity is safely dissipated.

A California plan, including a chemical inventory, that businesses handling hazardous materials at or above reportable quantities must submit through the California Environmental Reporting System (CERS) to their local Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA).

The process of accounting for all employees, visitors, and contractors at the assembly point after an evacuation so that emergency responders know whether anyone may still be inside.

Riveting, welding, flame cutting, or other fire- or spark-producing operation.

A document issued after a worksite inspection that authorizes hot work operations and the safe work practices employees must follow while performing them.

Controlling the accumulation of flammable and combustible waste materials in the workplace to prevent fires, explosions, and the spread of toxic smoke.

A pressure test performed at set intervals on portable fire extinguisher shells or cylinders by trained individuals with appropriate equipment to confirm they remain safe to use.

Any heat source — such as open flames, sparks, welding, smoking materials, hot plates, space heaters, boilers, or furnaces—capable of igniting a fire.

The initial stage of a fire, small and confined to its point of origin, and controllable with a single portable fire extinguisher or small hose.

An informal, internally designated group of employees trained and authorized to use portable extinguishers on incipient-stage fires only — distinct from a full structural fire brigade under Title 8 CCR Section 3411.

A device, such as a circuit breaker or fuse, that automatically opens a circuit when it detects current above the equipment's or wiring's rating, preventing overheating and fire.

The oxygen component of the fire tetrahedron; the atmosphere contains approximately 21% oxygen by volume.

An atmosphere containing more than 23.5% oxygen by volume, in which a fire is easier to start and much harder to put out.

The standard method for operating a portable fire extinguisher: Pull the pin, Aim at the base of the fire, Squeeze the handle, and Sweep side to side.

A door-latching device that releases the latch when a force of no more than 15 pounds is applied in the direction of exit travel (Title 8 CCR Section 3235(m)).

A hand-held device that dispenses an extinguishing agent to cool burning fuel, remove oxygen, or interrupt the chemical reaction of a small fire.

A designated safe area, interior or exterior, where employees gather during an evacuation.

Selecting an interior room or rooms with no or few windows and taking refuge there instead of evacuating.

A system of hose, ⅝″ to 1½″ in diameter, for employees to control and extinguish incipient-stage fires.

Placing a barrier between a flame and the atmosphere to inhibit the fire's oxygen supply.

A system of piping and hose connections, installed instead of or alongside portable fire extinguishers, for employee or fire department use in fighting a fire.

The California regulations that contain Cal/OSHA’s workplace safety and health standards, including the General Industry Safety Orders that govern fire safety and emergency evacuation.

A fixed extinguishing system arranged to automatically discharge a predetermined concentration of extinguishing agent into an enclosed space to extinguish or control a fire. Where agent concentrations could exceed safe levels, Cal/OSHA requires a pre-discharge employee alarm and an emergency action plan for the area.

The maximum distance an employee should have to travel to reach a portable fire extinguisher, set by Title 8 CCR Section 6151(d) according to the class of fire hazard present.