What 29 CFR 1910.39 requires (plain English)
29 CFR 1910.39 requires a fire prevention plan (FPP): the written plan that identifies the fire hazards in a workplace and sets out how the employer will control them so a fire does not start. Where the emergency action plan (1910.38) is about responding once an emergency occurs, the fire prevention plan is about prevention: knowing what can burn, what can ignite it, and how both are managed. Several OSHA standards require an FPP, and where an employer's policy is total evacuation (no employee firefighting), an FPP is part of the reduced-obligation alternative.
The plan must be in writing, kept in the workplace, and available to employees for review, with the same exception as the EAP: an employer with 10 or fewer employees may communicate it orally. At a minimum, the FPP must include a list of all major fire hazards, proper handling and storage procedures for hazardous materials, potential ignition sources and their control, and the type of fire protection equipment necessary to control each major hazard; procedures to control accumulations of flammable and combustible waste materials; procedures for regular maintenance of safeguards installed on heat-producing equipment to prevent the accidental ignition of combustible materials; and the name or job title of employees responsible for maintaining equipment to prevent or control ignition sources, and those responsible for the control of fuel-source hazards.
The employer must inform employees, upon initial assignment, of the fire hazards of the materials and processes they are exposed to, and must review with each employee the parts of the plan needed for self-protection. The FPP works together with the emergency action plan (1910.38), the portable fire extinguisher requirements (1910.157), and the flammable-liquids storage rules (1910.106) to form a complete approach: prevent the fire, control what fuels it, and be ready to evacuate or extinguish if one starts anyway.