32-Year-Old Driver Suffers Fatal Heart Attack at Fire Station — North Carolina

Details

• Personal Author:
  Welch, T. J. ; Harrison, Robert ; Styles, Laura
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP)
• Description:
  Line of Duty Death Report
  
  On May 30, 2022, a 32-year-old male firefighter (Driver) suffered a fatal heart attack during his sleep at the fire station. On May 31, 2022, the father of the Driver drove to the volunteer fire station after multiple text messages to his son went unanswered. The father arrived at the station and met with the captain on duty. Both the captain and father went to the Driver's room and found him unresponsive laying supine in his bed and showing obvious signs of death. No medical intervention was initiated. The Captain made appropriate notifications to the local emergency medical service (EMS) agency, the Fire Chief (FC) and sheriff's office. The medical examiner's report listed the cause of death as ischemic heart disease with coronary artery thrombus. The Driver had been a member of the fire department (FD) for 12.5 years. He was state certified in FFI/FFII, Hazardous Materials Operations, Emergency Vehicle Driver, Driver Operator-pumps, and Emergency Medical Care. He was a Driver/Operator (Driver) for the department, operated all FD vehicles and responded to all calls when available. The Driver was awarded the Firefighter of the Year award several times during his tenure with the department. Key Recommendations - NIOSH investigators offer the following recommendations to reduce the risk of heart attacks and sudden cardiac arrest among firefighters at this and other fire departments across the country. Key Recommendation #1: Implement comprehensive pre-placement and annual medical evaluations consistent with NFPA 1582 Standard on Comprehensive Occupational Medical Program for Fire Departments, which includes heart risk calculators to identify early risk of heart disease [NFPA 2022]. Key Recommendation #2: Implement an annual fitness evaluation consistent with NFPA 1582 Standard on Comprehensive Occupational Medical Program for Fire Departments to ensure personnel are physically fit to perform job expectations at emergencies. The fitness evaluation should include stress EKG to assist in identifying ischemia [NFPA 2022]. Key Recommendation #3: Implement training on heart attack signs and symptoms, offer periodic refresher training on this issue, and encourage those who experience any of these to seek immediate medical evaluation. Key Recommendation #4: Ensure that individuals with Graves' disease and/or Hashimoto's thyroiditis receive an appropriate evaluation for these conditions as part of their initial and annual medical evaluations consistent with NFPA 1582 Standard on Comprehensive Occupational Medical Program for Fire Departments [NFPA 2022].
  
  
• Subjects:
  Cardiovascular Diseases Cardiovascular System Firefighters Fires Mortality Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Cardiovascular Disease Fatalities Fire Fighters Fire Fighting Heart Attacks Heart Disease Medical Fitness Evaluation OSHA Region 4
• FACE - Firefighter:
  Cause of Death: Medical ; Cardiovascular: Heart Attack (Myocardial Infarction, Coronary Artery Disease and Coronary Vascular Disease)
• Series:
  Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP)
• Subseries:
  Line of Duty Death Report
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHFFFACEF202301
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study ; Report
• Place as Subject:
  North Carolina ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DFSE - Division of Field Studies and Engineering
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-10
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20069523
• Citation:
  Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, FACE F2023-01, 2024 Apr ; :1-10
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2024
• NORA Priority Area:
  Public Safety
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  92 - Public Administration - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  2022/05/30
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:d788f036a367368ab0d54ebd173f02801196e2f818712611501a724c4930a77434af6f1c73a8f246067e9dc659a97d438d1e5cfe5485ab9902ac6ecf30de082e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/163303/cdc_163303_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 850.40 KB ]