NOM-002-STPS-2010: fire prevention and protection in workplaces 

01Who it applies to

The standard is in force throughout Mexico and applies to all workplaces (section 2). Enforcement is the responsibility of the Secretaría del Trabajo y Previsión Social (STPS, Mexico’s Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare) (section 14.1). When it took effect, it superseded NOM-002-STPS-2000 (third transitory article).

Chapter 5 sets out the employer’s obligations and chapter 6 those of workers. The workers’ obligations include:

• Following the safety instructions and the fire prevention and protection measures set by the employer (6.1 and 6.2).
• Taking part in training, fire response brigades, and drills (6.3, 6.6, and 6.7).
• Helping respond to fire emergencies according to the training received (6.4).
• Not blocking, damaging, disabling, or misusing personal protective equipment for emergencies, sketches, plans, maps, and evacuation, prevention, and firefighting signs (6.8).
• Activating the alert procedure upon detecting a fire emergency (6.9).

02Fire risk classification

The employer must classify the fire risk of the entire workplace or of its areas, such as plants, buildings, or floors, according to Appendix A (section 5.1). Areas may be classified separately when they are separated by fire-resistant materials or by distances that prevent fire from spreading quickly between them (A.1.2).

For each item, the highest inventory recorded over one year is used. In offices and similar areas, furniture is estimated at 60 kg of combustible solids per worker, or optionally at the actual amount, and materials under the same item are added together (A.1.3). When there are two or more materials among flammable gases, flammable liquids, combustible liquids, and combustible solids, the formula in paragraph e) of the same section applies: the sum of each inventory divided by its quantity in Table A.1.

A workplace is ordinary risk when its built area is under 3 000 m² and the result is less than one; it is high risk when its built area is 3 000 m² or more, or the result is one or more (A.1.4). Table A.1 sets these values:

• Built area: under 3 000 m², ordinary; equal or greater, high.
• Flammable gas inventory: under 3 000 liters, ordinary; equal or greater, high.
• Flammable liquid inventory: under 1 400 liters, ordinary; equal or greater, high.
• Combustible liquid inventory: under 2 000 liters, ordinary; equal or greater, high.
• Combustible solid inventory, including furniture: under 15 000 kg, ordinary; equal or greater, high.
• Pyrophoric and explosive materials: any quantity, high.

03Employer obligations

In addition to classifying the fire risk (5.1), chapter 5 requires the employer to:

• Have an up-to-date general sketch, plan, or map of the workplace, or of its areas, posted at the main entrances, circulation routes, meeting places, or common areas, showing areas with fire risk, detection devices, fire protection equipment and systems, evacuation routes, personal protective equipment for brigade members, and first aid supplies (5.2).
• Have safety instructions for each area and communicate them to workers, contractors, and visitors (5.3).
• Meet the fire prevention and protection conditions in chapter 7 (5.4).
• Have a fire emergency response plan in accordance with chapter 8 (5.5).
• Have fire response brigades in workplaces classified as high fire risk (5.6).
• Conduct fire emergency drills at least once a year in ordinary-risk workplaces and at least twice a year in high-risk workplaces (5.7).
• Prepare an annual theoretical and practical training program on fire prevention and emergency response, and train workers and brigade members based on it (5.8).
• Provide personal protective equipment to fire response brigade members in accordance with NOM-017-STPS-2008 or the standard that replaces it (5.9).
• Have detection devices and fire protection equipment in ordinary-risk areas and, in high-risk areas, fixed fire protection systems and fire alarms as well (5.10).
• In high-risk workplaces, hold one of these documents: the STPS record and minutes of a satisfactory verification under the Programa de Autogestión en Seguridad y Salud en el Trabajo (Occupational Safety and Health Self-Management Program), a compliance report from an accredited and approved verification body, or the official inspection record (acta circunstanciada) issued by the local civil protection authority (5.11).
• Show the labor authority, upon request, the documents the standard requires the employer to prepare and keep (5.12).

04Emergency response plan and brigades

As applicable, the fire emergency response plan includes the identification of areas with fire risk; evacuation routes, exits, emergency stairs, and assembly points; the alert procedure; procedures for operating fire protection equipment and systems; the evacuation procedure, which must take people with disabilities into account; brigade members and their duties; the mutual aid plan with other workplaces; how to request help from specialized emergency services; the return to normal activities; how often drills are held; and the means for communicating the plan to workers (8.1).

In high-risk workplaces, the plan also includes first aid, communication, and evacuation brigades, their procedures, and the resources for their duties (8.2).

To determine the number of brigade members, at least the number of workers per shift, shift assignment and rotation, and drill results are considered (9.1). Members are selected from workers who are willing to participate and are physically and mentally fit (9.2). At a minimum, their duties are to assess the risks of the emergency in order to decide on actions, and to recognize and operate fire protection equipment, tools, and fixed systems, as well as use personal protective equipment (9.3).

05Drills

Fire emergency drills are conducted by area or for the entire workplace (10.1), at least once a year in ordinary-risk workplaces and at least twice a year in high-risk workplaces (5.7).

Drill planning is documented in writing and includes at least the people in charge of coordinating the drill and its safety measures, the date and time, the scope (full or by area, announced or unannounced), the most critical emergency scenarios, the sequence of actions, and, if applicable, the participation of local specialized emergency services (10.2).

The results of each drill are recorded with at least the following information (10.3):

• Name or company name and full address of the workplace.
• Areas where the drill was held and number of people who took part.
• Resources used.
• Deviations detected from the planned actions.
• Recommendations for updating the fire emergency response plan.
• Duration of the drill and names of the people who coordinated it.

06Extinguishers, equipment, and installations

Chapter 7 sets out the fire prevention and protection conditions. For equipment and installations, it provides the following:

• Install extinguishers according to the class of fire, at least one per 300 m² of floor area or fraction thereof in ordinary-risk areas and one per 200 m² in high-risk areas, mounted no higher than 1.50 m measured from the floor to the top of the extinguisher (7.17).
• Prepare an annual program of monthly extinguisher inspections that checks, among other conditions, their location, access, signage, tamper seal, pressure gauge, physical damage, and label (7.2), and record the date, who performed the inspection, the results, any anomalies, and their follow-up (7.3).
• Service extinguishers as a result of the monthly inspections, at least once a year and in accordance with NOM-154-SCFI-2005; when they are serviced, they are replaced in the same location with others of at least the same type and capacity (7.18). After use, they are recharged (7.19).
• Set up an annual inspection and testing program for fire protection equipment, detection devices, and, where applicable, fire alarms and fixed systems; if there is damage or deterioration, maintenance is performed by trained personnel (7.4).
• Set up an annual inspection program for electrical installations, with emphasis on high-risk areas, covering at least switchboards, conductors, raceways, junction boxes, outlets, switches, light fixtures, protective devices, and grounding (7.5).
• Set up an annual inspection program for liquefied petroleum gas or natural gas installations, covering the integrity of their components and the marking of their piping (7.6).
• Record the results of the programs in sections 7.4, 7.5, and 7.6, including the workplace details, the date, the areas inspected, anomalies and corrective actions, and the people responsible for the inspection (7.7).

07Training, records, and evidence

Workers are trained to prevent fires according to the risks in their areas or jobs (11.1) and receive theoretical and practical training, as applicable, to use extinguishers or fixed systems, act according to the emergency response plan, identify and fight an incipient fire, activate the alert procedure, and lead visitors to a safe place (11.2).

In high-risk workplaces, brigade members are also trained in the content of the plan, extinguishing techniques, rescue and first aid, communication and coordination with outside emergency groups, and the safe handling of flammable or explosive materials (11.3); the brigade leader and their alternate are also trained in decision-making (11.4). The annual training program states at least the jobs involved, the topics, the duration and schedule, and the person responsible for the program (11.5).

Documentary evidence and records may be shown in print or on magnetic media and must be kept for three years (13.6). Official inspection records (actas circunstanciadas) issued by the local civil protection authority under internal, specific, or special civil protection programs prove compliance with the standard for three years after they are issued (13.5).