Volunteer Fire Department Probationary Member Is Killed After the Pumper/Tanker He Was Operating Leaves the Roadway and Overturns – Alabama

Details

• Personal Author:
  Wertman, Stacy C.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP)
• Description:
  Death in the Line of Duty…a Summary of a NIOSH Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation
  
  On October 17, 2013, a 28-year-old male volunteer probationary member lost his life after the pumper/tanker he was operating left the roadway and overturned. The probationary member called 9-1-1 to report a structure fire in another house behind his residence. He donned his structural firefighting gear and waited for his department to arrive at the fire. After making an initial fire attack with other fire fighters, he left the hoseline and went to his department's engine to change the bottle of his self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). The pump operator stated she didn't know where spare bottles were on that apparatus. While still wearing his structural firefighting gear, he left the incident scene in his personal vehicle and responded to his department's nearby substation. He left the substation driving Engine 2, a 2,500-gallon pumper/tanker. While returning to the incident scene, Engine 2 left the roadway in a curve and overturned. The probationary member received fatal injuries during the rollover and was pronounced dead on the scene. He was not wearing a seat belt. Contributing Factors: 1. No department- or state-required driver training program. 2. Inexperienced driver. 3. Not wearing a seat belt. 4. Driving or entering a curve at a speed not negotiable for a large vehicle such as a pumper/tanker. 5. Exiting a curve on a narrow roadway with a minimal shoulder. 6. Vehicle overturned. 7. Incident management system not implemented at the fire scene. Key Recommendations: 1. Fire departments and authorities having jurisdiction should ensure that all drivers complete a comprehensive driver training program, such as NFPA 1451 Standard for a Fire and Emergency Services Vehicle Operations Training Program, and NFPA 1002 Standard for Fire Apparatus Driver/Operator Professional Qualifications before allowing a member to operate a fire department apparatus. 2. Fire departments should ensure that department drivers/operators are trained in the unique characteristics of driving a tanker and maintaining control. 3. Fire departments should ensure that seat belts are properly worn at all times by apparatus drivers and occupants.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Automobiles Emergency Responders Firefighters Fires Occupational Health Safety Staff Development
• Keywords:
  Accident-prevention Drivers Emergency-responders Fire-fighters Fire-fighting Fire-fighting-equipment Fire-safety Injuries Injury-prevention Motor-vehicles OSHA Region 4 Safety-belts Safety-equipment Safety-practices Surveillance Training Traumatic-injuries

  More +
• FACE - Firefighter:
  Cause of Death: Trauma ; Motor Vehicle: Emergency Vehicle
• Series:
  Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP)
• Subseries:
  Death in the Line of Duty Report
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHFFFACEF201326
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study ; Report
• Place as Subject:
  Alabama ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSR - Division of Safety Research
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-32
• Contributor:
  Wieder, Mike
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20044579
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2014-106376
• Citation:
  Morgantown, WV: 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 F2013-26, 2014 Jun ; :1-32
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• NORA Priority Area:
  Public Safety
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  92 - Public Administration - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  2013/10/17
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e080b0f2c4fa16f68c11434206dcaa7deee4b1147540036227cfaf6539a39c4abd811a3e1ed4dfb63ae5a94285213acc941de51d24c0b93d3d5adacf12080680
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/163435/cdc_163435_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 8.38 MB ]