Fire Fighter Dies after Performing Overhaul at a Fire in a Three-Story Dwelling – Pennsylvania

Details

• Personal Author:
  Baldwin, Tommy N.
• 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 January 28, 2006, a 49-year-old male Fire Fighter (FF) responded to a fire in a three-story dwelling. While performing "wet down" overhaul inside the structure, the FF collapsed. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and advanced life support (ALS) were begun and the FF was transported to the hospital. Despite medical treatment for approximately 47 minutes on the scene and at the hospital, the FF died. The death certificate and the autopsy (completed by the City Medical Examiner) listed "arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD)" as the immediate cause of death and "hypertensive cardiomyopathy" as a significant condition. The NIOSH investigator concluded that the physical stress of conducting fire suppression, coupled with the FF's underlying CVD, contributed to the FF's sudden cardiac death. The NIOSH investigator offers the following recommendations to prevent similar incidents and to address general safety and health issues: 1. Provide mandatory annual medical evaluations to all fire fighters consistent with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standard 1582, Standard on Comprehensive Occupational Medical Program for Fire Departments, to determine their medical ability to perform duties without presenting a significant risk to the safety and health of themselves or others. 2. Consider exercise stress tests for fire fighters at increased risk for coronary artery disease (CAD). 3. Develop a wellness/fitness program for fire fighters to reduce risk factors for CVD and improve cardiovascular capacity. 4. Ensure endotracheal tubes do not become dislodged during patient treatment, transfer, and transport. 5. Discontinue routine pre-employment/pre-placement exercise stress test for applicants, unless the applicants are at increased risk for CAD. 6. Discontinue routine screening chest x-rays for HazMat units unless medically indicated. 7. Ensure fire fighters wear self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) when working in a potentially hazardous atmosphere, including overhaul operations.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Cardiovascular Diseases Cardiovascular System Emergency Responders Firefighters Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Protective Devices Safety
• Keywords:
  Cardiac-function Cardiovascular-disease Cardiovascular-function Cardiovascular-system Cardiovascular-system-disease Cardiovascular-system-disorders Emergency-responders Fire-fighters Medical-examinations Medical-monitoring Medical-screening OSHA Region 3 Personal-protection Personal-protective-equipment Physical-fitness Respiratory-protection Respiratory-protective-equipment

  More +
• 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/NIOSHFFFACEF200609
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study ; Report
• Place as Subject:
  Pennsylvania ; OSHA Region 3
• 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:20031409
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2007-104875
• 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 F2006-09, 2006 Dec ; :1-11
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2007
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  92 - Public Administration - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  2006/01/28
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:43ca64ccb362ee0092eb6f632aa291f3d11bc053b5da06493746f9f1bf48f54b8b78e0106812b6d1d9cac6c4f6cb5c7040db774e95f28cff9ad12209f604afff
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/163666/cdc_163666_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 384.85 KB ]