One Career Fire Fighter Dies and Another Is Injured After Partial Structural Collapse – Texas

Details

• Personal Author:
  Mezzanotte, Thomas P. ; Frederick, Linda J. ; Braddee, Richard W.
• 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 February 11, 2002, a 42-year-old male career fire fighter (the victim) was killed and another fire fighter was injured in a partial structural collapse while performing suppression operations at an apartment complex under renovation. The victim and three crew members were exiting the complex through a breezeway that connected the fire structure to an uninvolved structure when a section of brick veneer from the uninvolved structure collapsed onto the victim and the injured fire fighter. The injured fire fighter called for help and was freed by fire fighters. A personal accountability report (PAR) was called and it was determined that the victim was missing. A second search found the victim unresponsive and without a pulse beneath a pile of bricks. The victim was extricated, given emergency medical treatment, and transported to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. NIOSH investigators concluded that to minimize the risk of similar occurrences, fire departments should: 1. establish and monitor a collapse zone to ensure that no fire fighting operations take place within this area as part of defensive operations
  
  2. ensure that an Incident Safety Officer, independent from the Incident Commander, is appointed and on scene early in the fire operation
  
  and, 3. ensure consistent use of personal alert safety system (PASS) devices at all incidents.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Emergency Responders Firefighters Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Accident-analysis Accident-prevention Emergency-responders Fire-fighters Injury-prevention Monitoring-systems Monitors OSHA Region 6 Traumatic-injuries
• FACE - Firefighter:
  Cause of Death: Trauma ; Structure Fire: Residential ; Structure Fire: Collapse
• Series:
  Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP)
• Subseries:
  Death in the Line of Duty Report
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHFFFACEF200207
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study ; Report
• Place as Subject:
  Texas ; OSHA Region 6
• 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:
  1-10
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20022440
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2003-103281
• 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 F2002-07, 2003 Jan ; :1-10
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2003
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  92 - Public Administration - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  2002/02/11
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:046c40f7b3cecc8198885104dcac0368d4c3087ac300ab8a5145a778cfbddad797551b716798b36e82c8652c50620e3d43c1dcb475b06568c97fa4a294dd0bfe
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/163849/cdc_163849_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 256.18 KB ]