Question: We have a volunteer Emergency Response Team in the plant trained in fire fighting, rescue and HazMat.  Twenty four of the 75 members are EMT and they are available at all shifts. If needed, our team can respond within a very short time.

With the availability of trained emergency personnel, do we need to train all our electricians on basic first aid and CPR to comply with NFPA 70E

You are likely fine but there are some details you should check. 

OSHA requires a 3-4 minute response time in OSHA 1910.269 and other OSHA literature and NFPA 70E requires the following:

(C) Emergency Procedures. Employees exposed to shock hazards and those employees responsible for taking action in case of emergency shall be trained in methods of release of victims from contact with exposed energized electrical conductors or circuit parts. Employees shall be regularly instructed in methods of first aid and emergency procedures, such as approved methods of resuscitation, if their duties warrant such training. Training of employees in approved methods of resuscitation, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation and automatic external defibrillator (AED) use, shall be certified by the employer annually.

It does not mean that ALL employees or electricians MUST be trained but those who respond MUST be trained and someone must be able to respond within 4 minutes.  I do believe every electrical worker should be trained on methods of release and we have this built into our NFPA 70E training but it is a good idea to do basic electrical first aid and CPR training. It is so much easier today than ever and even if you made the additional training open to those interested when you train the 75 workers. 

The intent is that if a worker is hurt in an electrical event and they have a cardiac event, the response time will be sufficient for CPR and/or AED that the worker will have a high probability of survival and a low probability of brain damage.

Thanks for the question,

Hugh Hoagland

e-Hazard.com