Safety, Health and Welfare in the Fire Services in Ireland comes from a number of different sources both within and from outside the brigades.

The primary pieces of legislation are as follows:

Health, Safety and Welfare at Work Act 2005

Link to the Act

General Application Regulations 2007

Link to the Act

Working at Height Regulations 2006

Link to the Act 

Working at Height Regulations - Requirements for employers

The Work at Height Regulations require employers to ensure that:

All work at height is properly planned and organised

A risk assessment is carried out for all work conducted at height

Appropriate work equipment is selected and used

People working at a height are competent

Equipment used for work at height is properly inspected and maintained

Risks from fragile surfaces are properly controlled

The risk assessment should include a careful examination of what harm could be caused from working at height with a view to taking the effective steps to reduce the likelihood of this harm occurring, either through avoiding the activity or, where this is not reasonably practicable, by carrying it out in a safe manner using work equipment that is appropriate to the task and the level of risk.

Other documents which are useful are:

The Use of Breathing Apparatus in the Fire Service 2007
Download

Working at Time Act

Link to the Act