South Carolina Respiratory Protection: What you need to know

South Carolina has adopted the federal OSHA regulations on respiratory protection in general industry workplaces by reference (R. 71 Subarticle 6), and has adopted requirements for interior structural firefighting that are more detailed than federal rules. No additional state requirements apply.

The South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation/Occupational Safety and Health Administration enforces the safety and health rules for private and public sector workplaces in the state.

Prior to the assembly of the entire firefighting team, a qualified incident commander may allow two or more employees to enter an immediately dangerous to life and health (IDLH) atmosphere with one employee located outside the IDLH atmosphere until the arrival of additional employees, provided that all of the following 5 conditions are met:

• The incident commander has completed the Incident Command System course or its equivalent as certified by the South Carolina Fire Academy;
• The employees who enter the IDLH atmosphere have completed the Basic Firefighter Course or its equivalent as certified by the South Carolina Fire Academy;
• The incident commander has determined that the standard staffing pattern is not feasible;
• The incident commander has determined that the entry can be made safely with the personnel on-site; and
• The arrival of additional employees to complete the standard staffing pattern is imminent.