Volunteer Fire Fighter Electrocuted by Downed Power Line Following Severe Weather – North Carolina

Details

• Personal Author:
  Merinar, Timothy R. ; Bowyer, Matt E.
• 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 June 13, 2013, a 36-year-old male volunteer fire fighter (the victim) died after being electrocuted as he investigated the source of a small structure fire. The fire department was dispatched to a vehicle fire caused by an energized power line that was downed after severe weather passed through the area. The energized power line fell across the roof of a small metal storage shed, causing the wooden support structure to arc and catch fire. The victim, dressed in street clothing, walked down a rain-soaked gravel and dirt driveway and knelt down to look underneath the building where fire and smoke were emitting, and immediately fell to the ground unconscious. An eyewitness reported the victim did not touch the building before he fell to the ground. Rescuers dragged the victim approximately 30 feet away and began performing cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and attempted to use an automated external defibrillator (AED). The victim was transported by ambulance to the local hospital where he was pronounced dead. Contributing Factors: 1. Energized power line in contact with metal building. 2. Pooling water and runoff from recent rainstorm. 3. Victim not wearing any personal protective clothing or non-conductive boots. 4. Lack of situational awareness. 5. Unrecognized electrical hazards - especially on ground gradients and step potential hazards. 6. No other first responders in the immediate area at the time of the incident. Key Recommendations: 1. Fire departments should ensure that fire fighters are trained to recognize electrical shock hazards. 2. Fire departments should ensure that fire fighters wear the appropriate personal protective clothing and equipment for the hazards anticipated. 3. Fire departments should ensure that fire fighters are trained in situational awareness and to anticipate hidden hazards. 4. Fire departments and authorities having jurisdiction should consider dispatching an ambulance to all confirmed working fires and other emergency incidents.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Electric Injuries Electricity Emergency Responders Firefighters Fires Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Safety Staff Development

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• Keywords:
  Accident-analysis Accident-prevention Electrical-hazards Electrical-safety Electrical-shock Electrocutions Emergency-responders Fire-fighters Fire-fighting Fire-safety Injuries Injury-prevention OSHA Region 4 Personal-protection Personal-protective-equipment Surveillance Training Traumatic-injuries

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• FACE - Firefighter:
  Cause of Death: Trauma ; Non-Structure Fire: Residential ; Structure Fire: Miscellaneous
• Series:
  Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP)
• Subseries:
  Death in the Line of Duty Report
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHFFFACEF201319
• 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:
  DSR - Division of Safety Research
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-24
• Contributor:
  Dodson, David W.
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20044090
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2014-105946
• 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 F2013-19, 2014 Apr ; :1-24
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• NORA Priority Area:
  Public Safety
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  92 - Public Administration - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  2013/06/13
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:77ac0243c9076e18b482b404246df6537f53a16b895830df77049b715b0e17674eedff30cc0d09348fba7b7ef30923e666e5a35abf18b453ef01480680109dba
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/163442/cdc_163442_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 4.11 MB ]