Captain Suffers Cardiac Death While Attending Training Drills – 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 April 12, 2010, a 65-year-old male Captain of a volunteer department suffered a fatal cardiac event after participating in a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) drill. Approximately 20 minutes after completing the evolution the Captain complained of chest pains and on-site Emergency Medical Service (EMS) personnel were notified. En route to the ED the Captain went into cardiac arrest. The ambulance crew initiated Advanced Life Support (ALS) care. The cardiac monitor did not detect a shockable cardiac rhythm, so the ambulance crew provided cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and ALS care until arrival at the ED. Once inside the ED, advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) measures, including intubation, were performed. Despite these efforts, the Captain died. The death certificate listed the immediate cause of death as "acute myocardial infarction." NIOSH investigators agree with this assessment and that the Captain's relatively modest exertion may have been enough to trigger a heart attack due to his undiagnosed underlying coronary heart disease. NIOSH offers the following recommendations to reduce the risk of heart attacks and sudden cardiac arrest among fire fighters at this and other fire departments (FD) across the country. 1.) Provide mandatory pre-placement and periodic medical evaluations to all fire fighters consistent with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1582. 2.) Incorporate exercise stress tests following standard medical guidelines into the Fire Department's medical evaluation program. 3.) Perform an annual physical performance (physical ability) evaluation.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Cardiovascular Diseases Cardiovascular System Emergency Responders Firefighters Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Protective Devices Safety Staff Development

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• Keywords:
  Accident-analysis Accident-prevention Cardiovascular-disease Cardiovascular-system-disease Cardiovascular-system-disorders Emergency-responders Fire-fighters Medical-screening OSHA Region 2 Physical-fitness Physical-stress Respirators Respiratory-protective-equipment Self-contained-breathing-apparatus Training

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• FACE - Firefighter:
  Cause of Death: Medical ; Cardiovascular: Heart Attack (Myocardial Infarction, Coronary Artery Disease and Coronary Vascular Disease)
• Series:
  Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP)
• Subseries:
  Death in the Line of Duty Report
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHFFFACEF201022
• 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:
  1-11
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20038103
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2011-104462
• 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 F2010-22, 2010 Dec ; :1-11
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2011
• NORA Priority Area:
  Services: Public Safety
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  92 - Public Administration - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  2010/04/12
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:b3dc842cdb3ae7bcb0884873b0f276370c2a12345784299cd9a8209b5e3987fc35ca767553ebef2c97c86cd4816aa86c743bcaa515991682835505f02bfcc8ce
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/163534/cdc_163534_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 503.11 KB ]