Volunteer Fire Chief Struck and Killed on Interstate Highway While Directing Traffic – Pennsylvania

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 April 27, 2013, a 45-year-old male volunteer fire chief (the victim) lost his life after being struck by a vehicle on an interstate highway. The victim had shut down the highway with his personal vehicle and was directing traffic onto an exit ramp. The victim's department was dispatched to assist a neighboring fire department working a motor vehicle incident. The victim's department was ordered by the incident commander to shut down both southbound travel lanes to allow for an aeromedical helicopter to land on the interstate. The victim responded to the scene in his personal vehicle, used it to block the southbound travel lanes, and diverted approaching traffic onto an off-ramp. A motorist, allegedly under the influence, drove around the victim's vehicle, striking and killing him. The victim was not wearing a high-visibility retro-reflective vest and a traffic incident management area (TIMA) had not been established. Contributing Factors: 1. Victim working in unprotected travel lane. 2. Lack of advanced warning to oncoming traffic. 3. Inconspicuousness of victim and vehicle. 4. Alleged impaired motorist. Key Recommendations: 1. Fire departments should ensure that emergency responders receive training and have adequate staffing, sufficient equipment, and appropriate procedures in place for responding to roadway emergency incidents. 2. Fire departments should ensure that standard operating procedures/guidelines include guidance on identifying and maintaining a safe location while working in or near moving traffic. 3. Fire departments should establish pre-incident plans and agreements regarding traffic control and incident management at roadway incidents with other fire departments, EMS, law enforcement, local or state departments of highways, and private sector responders. 4. Fire departments should ensure that apparatus equipped with high-visibility chevrons and reflective markings are used for blocking to enhance conspicuity and protection of emergency scenes while operating at highway incidents. 5. Fire departments should ensure that all personnel working at highway incidents wear the appropriate personal protective clothing and equipment, to include high-visibility retro-reflective material. 6. Motorists should be attentive at all times, especially when approaching and driving through a traffic incident management area, so that they avoid striking emergency responders, other vehicles, or traffic control devices.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Automobiles Emergency Responders Firefighters Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Protective Clothing Safety Staff Development

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• Keywords:
  Accident-prevention Emergency-responders Fire-fighters Injuries Injury-prevention Motor-vehicles OSHA Region 3 Personal-protection Personal-protective-equipment Protective-clothing Protective-measures Safety-practices Surveillance Training Traumatic-injuries Work-practices

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• FACE - Firefighter:
  Cause of Death: Trauma ; Motor Vehicle: Struck-by
• Series:
  Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP)
• Subseries:
  Death in the Line of Duty Report
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHFFFACEF201312
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study ; Report
• Place as Subject:
  Pennsylvania ; OSHA Region 3
• 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:
  1-15
• Contributor:
  Austin, Steve
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20044318
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2014-106296
• 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 F2013-12, 2014 Apr ; :1-15
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• NORA Priority Area:
  Public Safety
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  92 - Public Administration - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  2013/04/27
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:b4771a06adc45a07a14788808f071481a7e83dbd915c51a8435c04693e92af6f32813419c616da258a7acbf904bb95bea5fb10336f579e359a49a4198b1220a9
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/163440/cdc_163440_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 699.37 KB ]