Fire Fighter Suffers a Heart Attack after Expressing Symptoms while on Duty – New Jersey

Details

• Personal Author:
  Sexson, Kristen
• 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 June 23, 2000, at about 1800 hours 37-year-old male Firefighter/EMT was eating dinner when he reported feeling ill. At approximately 2140 hours, the Firefighter had a witnessed cardiac arrest. Despite CPR and ALS administered by the ambulance paramedics and by hospital personnel in the emergency department, the firefighter died. The death certificate, completed by the County Coroner, listed arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease as the immediate cause of death. The autopsy, performed by the County Medical Examiner, showed mild coronary artery disease (CAD), softening or fibrosis of the myocardium, and evidence of old and recent myocardial infarctions. Other agencies have proposed a three-pronged strategy for reducing the risk of on-duty heart attacks and cardiac arrests among fire fighters. This strategy consists of: 1) reducing physical stress on fire fighters
  
  2) screening to identify and subsequently rehabilitate high risk individuals
  
  and 3) encouraging increased individual physical capacity. Issues relevant to this Fire Department include: 1. Provide mandatory 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. Exercise stress tests should be incorporated into the Fire Department's medical evaluation program
  
  and, 3. Phase in a mandatory wellness/fitness program for fire fighters to reduce risk factors for cardiovascular disease and improve cardiovascular capacity.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Cardiovascular Diseases Cardiovascular System Emergency Responders Firefighters Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Cardiovascular Disease Cardiovascular System Disease Cardiovascular System Disorders Central Nervous System Disorders Emergency Responders Fire Fighters Heart Medical Screening OSHA Region 2 Physical Fitness Physical Stress

  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/NIOSHFFFACEF200045
• 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:
  1-7
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20023462
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2003-107695
• 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 F2000-45, 2003 Jul ; :1-7
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2003
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  92 - Public Administration - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  2000/06/23
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:23a6fd6cbc2e479d36aebaab055bef85aac691b642ca6baf5865b5e087baab47df37907b52c0418ae2e5ade7975445b925ba9170d58cb52b6ffdd6a4ea5929b8
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/163812/cdc_163812_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 100.96 KB ]