Just weeks after winning a coveted gold award for hot work safety training, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has released the content in Spanish to educate Hispanic trade workers throughout Massachusetts.
After a nine-alarm fire in a Boston brownstone initiated by hot work activity killed Lieutenant Edward Walsh and firefighter Michael Kennedy in March 2014, the Boston Fire Department, Boston Inspectional Services, the Building and Construction Trades Council of the Metropolitan District, and NFPA petitioned the Boston City Council to amend the Boston Fire Prevention Code.
Hot Work Safety Certificate
In January 2017 the code was updated to require all construction workers on a job to have earned a Hot Work Safety Certificate in order for a permit to be approved in Boston. The state of Massachusetts followed suit and made the same requirement mandatory as of July 2018.
NFPA was also asked by the Boston authorities to develop training for anyone engaged in hot work operations (any activity involving flame, spark production, and heat, such as welding). NFPA’s hot work classroom training debuted in October 2016 and has since educated more than 33,000 workers.
In March of 2018, NFPA introduced its Hot Work Safe Practices eLearning module for those working on or supervising hot work operations. The online training, which helps communities reduce avoidable loss by raising awareness of job site safety considerations and hazards, won a Brandon Hall Group gold award for excellence in learning in August.
Safety challenges and best practices
"Collaboration and mutual concern have been the cornerstone of the hot work educational program and is the reason that this training is successfully preparing trade workers. From the onset, we have worked hand in hand with Boston Fire, Boston Inspectional Services Division, and other officials to ensure that construction industry professionals are well-versed on hot work safety challenges and best practices,” said Chuck Stravin, NFPA Vice President of Business Development & Operations. “Tens of thousands of construction workers have learned the fundamentals of hot work safety in a practical way, and now their Spanish-speaking co-workers will have access to the same information and knowledge.”
The hot work material is presented in an interactive and engaging 90-minute eLearning course (State requirements called for one, 90-minute eLearning module.) After completing the course and passing an exam, learners obtain a certificate and are eligible to pull hot work permits throughout the state.
Standards, regulations and ordinances of Hot Work
The online course opens with news footage of the deadly Beacon Street fire and includes an interview with the mother of one of the lost firefighters. The story is woven throughout the course and conveys the seriousness of the content. The program is designed to enable the learner to:
- Identify relevant standards, regulations, and ordinances that are applicable to hot work.
- Describe the systems approach to hot work safety.
- Define and identify hot work and hot work hazards.
- Describe hot work evaluation requirements.
- Describe hot work safety team roles and responsibilities.
- Describe hot work permit requirements.
