Application
This unit of competency covers the skills and knowledge required to function as a member of an emergency response team in order to respond to fire emergencies in onshore and/or offshore facilities.
This unit of competency applies to operators who, as a normal part of their duties, are required to work with team members to confirm required response to a fire emergency, select and use emergency equipment, and conduct search and rescue according to procedures.
The person undertaking this competency must be able to work alone and also within an environment which requires a high level of teamwork and interpersonal communication.
This unit of competency applies to any installation or facility, including but not limited to:
onshore/offshore rig/installation
island based facility
floating production platform
onshore production, processing and/or storage facility
pipeline easement
maintenance base.
This unit of competency may be delivered as part of an induction program.
No licensing, legislative or certification requirements apply to this unit at the time of publication.
Elements and Performance Criteria
Elements describe the essential outcomes. | Performance criteria describe the performance needed to demonstrate achievement of the element. | ||
1 | Respond to identified fire emergencies | 1.1 | Communicate the nature and extent of the fire emergency to team members in order to confirm required actions and responses |
1.2 | Apply knowledge of fire chemistry, fire characteristics and chemical hazards to assessment of the fire emergency and communicate the action required | ||
1.3 | Advise others of the nature and extent of the fire emergency from a knowledge of appropriate fire control strategies | ||
2 | Deploy fire emergency equipment | 2.1 | Utilise knowledge of the location and availability of fire-fighting equipment in the control of a fire emergency |
2.2 | Select and utilise appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and breathing apparatus | ||
2.3 | Apply appropriate fire-fighting and containment media in a safe and coordinated manner, in accordance with the manufacturer specifications and the organisation's procedures, to attack and control the fire emergency | ||
3 | Undertake search and rescue of affected areas | 3.1 | Confirm the need to conduct the search and rescue with team leaders or other nominated personnel |
3.2 | Conduct systematic primary and secondary searches | ||
3.3 | Search rooms and mark in accordance with the organisation's procedures | ||
3.4 | Lead occupants to safety | ||
3.5 | Locate injured personnel and transfer them in an appropriate manner to a safe location | ||
3.6 | Minimise the risk of further injury to affected personnel by applying casualty handling techniques and handing them to the care of medical personnel once clear of threat of fire | ||
3.7 | Communicate extent of injuries and casualty numbers to other support groups and request further assistance as required |
Evidence of Performance
Evidence required to demonstrate competence in this unit must be relevant to and satisfy the requirements of the elements and performance criteria, and include the ability to:
assess fire chemistry, fire characteristics and chemical hazards to identify appropriate fire control strategies
select and use appropriate control and rescue equipment and fire-fighting media
communicate effectively under stress
react quickly and effectively to changing circumstances
respond to directives given by emergency team leaders and other team members
identify hazardous circumstances and conditions within the emergency and take action
apply casualty handling techniques.
Evidence of Knowledge
Evidence must be provided that demonstrates knowledge of:
organisational procedures, including those covering:
incident, fire and accident
personal protective equipment (PPE)
fire chemistry, fire characteristics and chemical hazards
location and availability of fire-fighting equipment
types and application of PPE and breathing apparatus
types and application of fire-fighting and containment media
casualty handling techniques.
Assessment Conditions
Competency must be achieved before performing this work unsupervised. Therefore this unit will typically be assessed off the job. Where assessment is undertaken on the job, appropriate supervision and safety precautions must be provided.
The unit should be assessed holistically and the judgement of competence based on a holistic assessment of the evidence.
The collection of performance evidence:
should provide evidence of the ability to perform over the range of situations which might be expected to be encountered, including typical disruptions to normal, smooth work conditions
must include the use of real fire in a simulated industrial environment, appropriate tools, equipment and safety gear
may use industry-based simulation for all of this unit, particularly where safety, lack of opportunity or significant cost is an issue.
Off-the-job assessment must sufficiently reflect realistic operational workplace conditions that cover all aspects of workplace performance, including environment, task skills, task management skills, contingency management skills and job role environment skills.
Assessment in a simulated environment should use evidence collected from one or more of:
walk-throughs
demonstration of skills
industry-based case studies/scenarios
‘what ifs’.
Knowledge evidence may be collected concurrently with performance evidence (provided a record is kept) or through an independent process, such as workbooks, written assessments or interviews (provided a record is kept).
Assessment processes and techniques must be appropriate to the language, literacy and numeracy requirements of the work being performed and the needs of the candidate.
Conditions for assessment must include access to all tools, equipment, materials and documentation required, including relevant workplace procedures, product and manufacturing specifications associated with this unit.
The regulatory framework will be reflected in workplace policies and procedures and is not required to be independently assessed.
Foundation skills are integral to competent performance of the unit and should not be assessed separately.
Assessors must satisfy the assessor competency requirements that are in place at the time of the assessment as set by the VET regulator.
In addition, the assessor or anyone acting in subject matter expert role in assessment must demonstrate both technical competency and currency. If the assessor cannot demonstrate technical competency and currency they must assess with a subject matter expert who does meet these requirements.
Technical competence can be demonstrated through one or more of:
relevant VET or other qualification/Statement of Attainment
appropriate workplace experience undertaking the type of work being assessed under routine and non-routine conditions
appropriate workplace experience supervising/evaluating the type of work being assessed under routine and non-routine conditions
Currency can be demonstrated through one or more of:
being currently employed undertaking the type of work being assessed
being employed by the organisation undertaking the type of work being assessed and having maintained currency in accordance with that organisation’s policies and procedures
having consulted/had contact with an organisation undertaking the type of work being assessed within the last twelve months, the consultation/contact being related to assessment
conducting on-the-job training/assessments of the type of work being assessed
being an active member of a relevant professional body and participating in activities relevant to the assessment of this type of work.
Foundation Skills
This section describes those language, literacy, numeracy and employment skills that are essential to performance.
Foundation skills essential to performance are explicit in the performance criteria of this unit of competency.
Range Statement
This field allows for different work environments and conditions that may affect performance. Essential operating conditions that may be present (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) are included. | |
Regulatory framework | The latest version of all legislation, regulations, industry codes of practice and Australian/international standards, or the version specified by the local regulatory authority, must be used, and include one or more of the following: legislative requirements, including work health and safety (WHS) industry codes of practice and guidelines environmental regulations and guidelines Australian and other standards licence and certification requirements All operations to which this unit applies are subject to stringent health, safety and environment (HSE) requirements, which may be imposed through state/territory or federal legislation, and these must not be compromised at any time. Where there is an apparent conflict between performance criteria and HSE requirements, the HSE requirements take precedence. |
Procedures | All operations must be performed in accordance with relevant procedures. Procedures are written, verbal, visual, computer-based or in some other form, include one or more of the following: emergency procedures manufacturer specifications work instructions standard operating procedures (SOPs) safe work method statements (SWMS) formulas/recipes batch sheets temporary instructions any similar instructions provided for the smooth running of the plant |
Control and rescue equipment | Control and rescue equipment includes one or more of the following: fire-extinguishing agents and water curtains hoses mobile extinguishers stretchers PPE, such as: chemical protective clothing distress alarms structural fire protective clothing self contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) communication equipment |
Fire extinguishing media | Fire extinguishing media includes the following: water foam extinguishing powder gaseous extinguishing agents vapourising liquids other fire-extinguishing substances |
Fire-fighting strategies and tactics | Fire-fighting strategies and tactics include one or more of the following: direct attack indirect attack combination attack exposure protection internal/offensive attacks confining the spread of fire rescuing occupants cooling the fuels removal of fuels interrupting the chemical chain reaction exclusion of oxygen |
Sectors
Competency Field
Work health and safety