Four Career Fire Fighters Injured While Providing Interior Exposure Protection at a Row House Fire – District of Columbia

Details

• Personal Author:
  Braddee, Richard W. ; Stull, Jeffrey O. ; Bowyer, Matt E. ; Berardinelli, Stephen P. Jr.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP)
• Description:
  Injury in the Line of Duty…a Summary of a NIOSH Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation
  
  On October 29, 2007, four male career fire fighters ranging in ages from 23 to 38 years were injured while providing interior exposure protection at a residential row house fire. The victims had advanced a 1 ½-inch handline up to the second floor of the exposure building where they encountered heavy smoke and fire in a room in the back of the structure. Fire fighting and search activities commenced and shortly thereafter and without warning, the fire progressed up the stairwell from the first floor and up the exterior back wall temporarily trapping the victims. All four victims retreated down the stairwell and out of the building where they were met by other fire fighters who provided assistance. Each of the victims suffered burn injuries. NIOSH investigators concluded that, to minimize the risk of similar occurrences, fire departments should: 1. ensure adequate size-up, including in exposure buildings, to reduce the risk of fire fighters being trapped
  
  2. ensure that fire fighters are trained on the hazards of operating on the floor above the fire without a charged hoseline, and to follow associated standard operating guidelines (SOGs)
  
  3. ensure ventilation is coordinated with the interior attack
  
  4. provide fire fighters with station/work uniforms (e.g., pants and shirts) that are compliant with NFPA 1975 and ensure the use and proper care of these garments
  
  5. ensure that fire fighters are trained on initiating Mayday radio transmissions immediately when they are in distress, and/or become lost or trapped. Although the following does not appear to have been a contributing factor in the injuries resulting from this incident, NIOSH recommends that as a good safety practice, fire departments should ensure all fire fighting personal protective equipment ensembles meet NFPA 1971 and are cleaned and maintained according to NFPA 1851.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Burns Firefighters Fires Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Protective Clothing Safety Staff Development
• Keywords:
  Fire-fighters Fire-fighting Fire-fighting-equipment Fire-hazards Fire-safety Injuries Injury-prevention OSHA Region 3 Personal-protection Personal-protective-equipment Protective-clothing Protective-equipment Protective-materials Protective-measures Surveillance Training Traumatic-injuries

  More +
• FACE - Firefighter:
  Cause of Death: Trauma ; Structure Fire: Residential ; Structure Fire: Flashover ; Structure Fire: Miscellaneous
• Series:
  Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP)
• Subseries:
  Injury in the Line of Duty Report
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHFFFACEF200735
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study ; Report
• Place as Subject:
  District of Columbia ; OSHA Region 3
• 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:
  1-35
• Contributor:
  Tippett, John B., Jr.
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20034683
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2010-103429
• 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 F2007-35, 2008 Nov ; :1-35
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2009
• NORA Priority Area:
  Services
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  92 - Public Administration - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  2007/10/29
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:56d2711318b2869f6f88694b5e9fa19a161e150cb250ad5a6b6b2eb376de49dd6decce17038eecc903bcb5b675ed8278c88d904e8ee5199195ec1bee99c1b469
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/163628/cdc_163628_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.02 MB ]