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Frequently Asked Questions About Post-Fire Operator Manual ActionsOn this page:
Index to all Frequently Asked Question Pages What is a post-fire operator manual action (OMA)? A post-fire OMA is a proceduralized activity carried out by plant personnel outside of the control room to respond to a fire and bring the plant to a safe and stable condition. 
What is the NRC’s goal regarding the use of post-fire OMAs at nuclear power plants (NPPs)? The main goal of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is safety. The NRC achieves this goal partly through the use of the defense-in-depth concept. As indicated in Appendix R to Title 10, Part 50, of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR Part 50), the fire protection program extends the concept of defense-in-depth to fire protection with the following objectives: (1) prevent fires from starting; (2) detect rapidly, control, and extinguish those fires that do occur; and (3) provide protection for structures, systems, and components important to safety so that a fire that is not promptly extinguished by the fire suppression activities will not prevent the safe shutdown of the plant. The application of feasible and reliable post-fire OMAs is an important tool in achieving the third objective above.
Why does the NRC allow post-fire OMAs in lieu of physical protection? Significant plant fires are unusual events. Often, adequate safety may be ensured through the use of OMAs that have been analyzed and demonstrated to be effective in ensuring safe-shutdown capability. In such cases, the NRC’s paramount goal of safety is achieved without unnecessary regulatory burden being imposed on the licensees. However, where physical protection is needed to ensure adequate safety, the NRC will require physical protection.
When will all plants be compliant? The enforcement discretion ends on March 6, 2009, and, therefore, the NRC expects all licensees to have resolved their non-compliances or submitted evaluations for NRC review and approval. The NRC will continue to conduct inspections under the Reactor Oversight Process (ROP), including specific inspections in the area of fire protection, to determine the effectiveness of a licensee’s corrective actions. Some plants are adopting National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standard 805, “Performance-Based Standard for Fire Protection for Light-Water Reactor Electric Generating Plants” (NFPA 805), in accordance with Title 10, Section 50.48(c), of the Code of Federal Regulations [10 CFR 50.48(c)]. Those plants are under a different enforcement discretion policy, and some will submit their NFPA 805 license amendments after March 6, 2009. The NFPA 805 analysis will include a review of post-fire OMAs.
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