After Conducting Fire Suppression Duties at a Structure Fire, Captain Collapses in Incident Scene Rehabilitation – Kansas

Details

• Personal Author:
  Smith, Denise L.
• 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 13, 2007, a 44-year-old Captain reported for duty at 0700 hours. At 1819 hours his crew was dispatched to a multiunit apartment fire. At this time the air temperature was 97 degrees Fahrenheit (ºF) with a relative humidity (RH) of 35%. Initial size-up reported heavy smoke from the two-story wood frame apartment building. The Captain, wearing turnout gear and his self contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), secured water supply to the first-in Engine with a 5-inch diameter hose. He was then assigned to assist with a primary search on the second floor of the apartment building. After being on-scene for about 10 minutes, the Captain was assigned to incident scene rehabilitation (Rehab). While in Rehab, he collapsed. Emergency medical service (EMS) personnel staffing the Rehab area immediately loaded the Captain into the ambulance and began advanced life support including cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Despite resuscitation efforts in the ambulance and in the Emergency Department, the Captain never regained consciousness. The death certificate and autopsy listed "Coronary Atherosclerosis" as the immediate cause of death and high heat conditions as a contributory cause. NIOSH investigators concluded that engaging in firefighting activities on a hot day probably triggered a heart attack and the Captain's subsequent sudden cardiac death. NIOSH offers the following recommendations to reduce the risk of on-the-job heart attacks and sudden cardiac arrest among fire fighters at this and other fire departments 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, Standard on Comprehensive Occupational Medical Program for Fire Departments. 2. Ensure fire fighters are cleared for duty by a physician knowledgeable about the physical demands of firefighting, the personal protective equipment used by fire fighters, and the various components of NFPA 1582. 3. Provide fire fighters with medical clearance to wear self-contained breathing apparatuses (SCBAs) as part of the Fire Department's medical evaluation program. 4. Ensure that appropriate systems are in place to identify fire fighters who do not participate in medical evaluations. 5. Develop a comprehensive wellness/fitness program for fire fighters to reduce risk factors for cardiovascular (CVD) and improve cardiovascular capacity.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Cardiovascular Diseases Cardiovascular System Emergency Responders Firefighters Fires Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Protective Devices Safety

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• Keywords:
  Accident-analysis Accident-prevention Cardiac-function Cardiovascular-disease Cardiovascular-function Cardiovascular-system Cardiovascular-system-disease Cardiovascular-system-disorders Emergency-responders Fire-fighters Fire-fighting-equipment Medical-examinations Medical-monitoring Medical-screening OSHA Region 7 Personal-protective-equipment Physical-fitness Respiratory-protective-equipment Self-contained-breathing-apparatus

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• FACE - Firefighter:
  Cause of Death: Medical ; Cardiovascular: Heart Attack (Myocardial Infarction, Coronary Artery Disease and Coronary Vascular Disease) ; Non-Cardiac: Heat Stress
• Series:
  Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP)
• Subseries:
  Death in the Line of Duty Report
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHFFFACEF200733
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study ; Report
• Place as Subject:
  Kansas ; 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:
  1-12
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20035361
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2009-109557
• 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 F2007-33, 2007 Mar ; :1-12
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2007
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  92 - Public Administration - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  2007/08/13
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7df38c273fee9324cb55e5b53838a4a194fed7934030337d62fdd0c31e92036c6951583587c4dbd7f484ad17528227e0b9199a0902ce17dd8a3ae6f367d6e9cf
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/163603/cdc_163603_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 570.68 KB ]