Career Fire Fighter Dies from Fall off Fire Escape Ladder – Illinois

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bowyer, Matt E. ; Miles, Stephen T.
• 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 August 09, 2010, a 31 year-old male career fire fighter (the victim) died from a fall while climbing a fire escape ladder. Crews were responding to an alarm at a 4 story mixed occupancy structure. When crews arrived at 0031 hours, they noticed sparks emitting from the top of the roof near an external exhaust duct that originated in a street level restaurant. The victim and three other fire fighters were using an exterior fire escape to access the roof. At the fourth floor landing the victim started to ascend the vertical ladder to the roof carrying a 63 pound hand pump in his right hand while being supported by a fire fighter on the landing. When out of reach of the supporting fire fighter, the victim lost his grip on the ladder falling 53 feet to the pavement. The victim was transported to the local medical center where he was pronounced dead. Contributing Factors: 1. Using a fire escape to access the roof rather than a safer means such as an aerial ladder or interior stairway
  
  2. Victim unable to maintain contact with the vertical portion of fire escape due to carrying the hand pump. Key Recommendations: 1. Ensure that standard operating guidelines (SOGs) on the use of fire escapes are developed, implemented, and enforced
  
  2. Ensure that tactical level accountability is implemented and enforced
  
  3. Ensure that companies are rigorously trained in safe procedures for roof operations and climbing ladders of any type
  
  4. Ensure that fire fighters are rigorously trained in safe procedures for carrying and/or hoisting equipment when ascending or descending elevations
  
  5. Evaluate the fire prevention inspection guidelines and process to ensure that they address high hazard occupancies, such as restaurant, and incorporate operational crew participation.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Emergency Responders Firefighters Occupational Health Safety Safety Management Workplace
• Keywords:
  Accident-analysis Accident-prevention Emergency-responders Fire-fighters Injuries Injury-prevention Ladders OSHA Region 5 Safety-education Safety-practices Safety-programs Surveillance Traumatic-injuries Work-environment Work-practices

  More +
• FACE - Firefighter:
  Cause of Death: Trauma ; 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/NIOSHFFFACEF201025
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study ; Report
• Place as Subject:
  Illinois ; OSHA Region 5
• 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:
  1-12
• Contributor:
  Tobin, Richard S.
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20038994
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2011-112665
• 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 F2010-25, 2011 Jun ; :1-12
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2011
• NORA Priority Area:
  Services: Public Safety
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  92 - Public Administration - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  2010/08/09
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f4b01c739104efd89049dd513e12ef58c246882f3f6bc5352bb6fd66ee68204f1ba0a46a0b22418b600457360156ea8f9214313335ef5e9b9f3d42ca4656ac96
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/163520/cdc_163520_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 406.43 KB ]