Fire Fighter Suffers Sudden Cardiac Death During Physical Fitness Training – New Jersey

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 May 31, 2005, a 58-year-old male career Fire Fighter (FF) began physical fitness training after, eating lunch. After using the seated rowing machine, he suddenly collapsed. A nearby crew member saw, the collapsed FF and notified crew members in the station and Dispatch, who sent an ambulance and a paramedic unit. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was performed, advanced life support (ALS) treatment was given, and the FF was transported to the local hospital's emergency department (ED). Despite ALS treatment in the ED, the FF died. The death certificate and the autopsy (both completed by the Medical Examiner) listed "calcific sclerosis of the aortic valve with aortic stenosis" as the cause of death, with "atherosclerotic coronary artery disease (CAD)" as a significant condition. The NIOSH investigator concluded that the FF's sudden cardiac death was due to his underlying aortic valve disease and his atherosclerotic CAD, possibly triggered by the physical exertion associated with physical fitness training. NIOSH investigators offer the following recommendations to prevent similar incidents, and to address general safety and health issues: 1. Provide annual medical evaluations to ALL fire fighters to determine their medical ability to perform duties without presenting a significant risk to the safety and health of themselves or others. 2. Provide fire fighters with medical evaluations and clearance to wear self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). 3. Phase in a MANDATORY wellness/fitness program for fire fighters to reduce risk factors for cardiovascular disease and improve cardiovascular capacity. 4. Perform an annual physical performance (physical ability) evaluation to ensure fire fighters are physically capable of performing the essential job tasks of structural fire fighting. 5. Discontinue routine annual chest x-rays for hazardous materials technicians unless medically indicated. 6. Discontinue routine drug screens as part of the annual medical evaluation unless for cause.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Cardiovascular Diseases Cardiovascular System Emergency Responders Firefighters Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Occupational Health 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 2 Physical-fitness Physical-stress

  More +
• FACE - Firefighter:
  Cause of Death: Medical ; Cardiovascular: Valvular Heart Disease
• Series:
  Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP)
• Subseries:
  Death in the Line of Duty Report
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHFFFACEF200530
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study ; Report
• Place as Subject:
  New Jersey ; 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:
  1-8
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20030082
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2006-110723
• 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 F2005-30, 2006 Mar ; :1-8
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2006
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  92 - Public Administration - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  2005/05/31
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:b9bcda87c0d626bed40a7fac701068c57497a691e097cc93d541377a838ed7c7be8b05653439ea82a2035040229e94d89372701d2d03bff13b507b19554dd868
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/163691/cdc_163691_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 198.74 KB ]