Lieutenant Suffers a Stroke Following Training and Dies – New York

Details

• Personal Author:
  Smith, Denise L. ; Hales, Thomas R.
• 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 January 10, 2011, a 26-year-old male volunteer lieutenant (LT) participated in annual training designed to increase confidence with the breathing apparatus. Approximately two and a half hours after completing 16 minutes of strenuous self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) training, the LT complained of not feeling well. He was evaluated by fellow fire fighters who noted very high blood pressure. A paramedic was summoned to transport the LT to the emergency department (ED) where he was admitted to the hospital for dizziness and headache. Overnight his condition deteriorated and it became clear he was having a stroke. Despite care in the hospital, the FF died on January 12, 2011. The death certificate and autopsy listed "cerebellar infarct due to vertebral artery thrombosis" as the cause of death. The NIOSH investigators concluded that the LT's death was likely due to an ischemic stroke due to a congenital abnormality in the brain's vascular system and possibly triggered by the heavy physical exertion required by the training. The following recommendations would not have prevented this LT's death. However, NIOSH investigators offer these recommendations to address general safety and health issues: 1. Provide preplacement and annual medical evaluations to all fire fighters in accordance with NFPA 1582, Standard on Comprehensive Occupational Medical Program for Fire Departments. 2. Phase in a mandatory comprehensive wellness and fitness program for fire fighters.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Cardiovascular Diseases Cardiovascular System Emergency Responders Firefighters Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Safety Staff Development
• Keywords:
  Cardiovascular-disease Cardiovascular-system-disease Cardiovascular-system-disorders Emergency-responders Fire-fighters Medical-screening OSHA Region 3 Personal-protective-equipment Physical-fitness Physical-stress Protective-equipment Self-contained-breathing-apparatus Training

  More +
• FACE - Firefighter:
  Cause of Death: Medical ; Non-Cardiac: Stroke
• Series:
  Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP)
• Subseries:
  Death in the Line of Duty Report
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHFFFACEF201126
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study ; Report
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; OSHA Region 2
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-10
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20040353
• 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 F2011-26, 2012 Feb ; :1-10
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2012
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  92 - Public Administration - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  2011/01/10
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:451457bc43c1612a8525f1fd491b77197b9a6227457d2d42a621da121816c727020faeea0a09703ff7a69506b81fe8c36af0354f01ec34dc89b2048321f3747c
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/163502/cdc_163502_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 395.99 KB ]