Fire Fighter Suffers On-Duty Sudden Cardiac Death – Missouri

Details

• Personal Author:
  Baldwin, Tommy N. ; 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 October 23, 2010, a 37-year-old male career fire fighter (FF) was working a 24-hour shift as the driver/operator of the tanker. During the shift he responded to two emergency calls. At the first call, a dwelling fire, the FF participated in interior structural fire fighting. At the second fire, a mutual aid call, the FF provided water supply. During the remainder of the shift, the FF performed about 2 hours of physical fitness training. That evening, he was having trouble falling asleep and remained in the day room where he sent a text message to a friend at midnight. The next morning crew members found the FF deceased and notified the coroner. The death certificate listed "sudden cardiac death probably exasperated (sic) or induced by overexertion fighting two structure fires while on duty" as the cause of death. The autopsy listed "cardiac arrhythmia secondary to dilated hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and severe arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease" as the cause of death. Given the FF's underlying dilated hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, NIOSH investigators concluded that the physical stress of fire suppression activities and physical fitness training triggered a fatal heart arrhythmia. NIOSH investigators offer the following recommendations to address general safety and health issues. It is unclear, however, whether these recommendations could have prevented the FF's death. NIOSH investigators offer the following recommendations to address general safety and health issues. It is unlikely, however, that any of these recommendations would have prevented the Trainee's death. 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. Ensure that fire fighters are cleared for return to duty by a physician knowledgeable about the physical demands of fire fighting, the personal protective equipment used by fire fighters, and the various components of NFPA 1582. 3. Phase in a mandatory comprehensive wellness and fitness program for fire fighters. 4. Perform a candidate and an annual physical performance (physical ability) evaluation for all members. 5. Provide fire fighters with medical clearance to wear a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) as part of the Fire Department's medical evaluation program.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Cardiovascular Diseases Cardiovascular System Emergency Responders Firefighters Occupational Health Safety Staff Development
• Keywords:
  Cardiovascular-disease Cardiovascular-system-disease Cardiovascular-system-disorders Emergency-responders Fire-fighters Medical-screening OSHA Region 7 Physical-fitness Physical-stress Training
• FACE - Firefighter:
  Cause of Death: Medical ; Cardiovascular: Heart Attack (Myocardial Infarction, Coronary Artery Disease and Coronary Vascular Disease) ; Cardiovascular: Arrhythmia ; Cardiovascular: Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy ; Cardiovascular: Dilated Cardiomyopathy
• Series:
  Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP)
• Subseries:
  Death in the Line of Duty Report
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHFFFACEF201111
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study ; Report
• Place as Subject:
  Missouri ; OSHA Region 7
• 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:
  1-13
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20039721
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2012-100237
• 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 F2011-11, 2011 Sep ; :1-13
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2011
• NORA Priority Area:
  Services: Public Safety
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  92 - Public Administration - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  2010/10/24
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:87038dd5fbe8b7c93060d5ee00e80e5b29950fab00742035fc0366275ab290fbdcd47bf073e12b5726c79f8c8f1c4b0530d3df5984b93410b3f7f8f5a75ae24b
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/163513/cdc_163513_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 568.17 KB ]