A Captain and a Fire Fighter Die From Injuries in a Tanker Rollover – Indiana

Details

• Personal Author:
  Cortez, Kimberly L. ; Romano, Nancy T.
• 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 October 28, 1999 a 57-year-old Captain (Victim #1), and a 23-year-old fire fighter/driver (Victim #2) from a volunteer fire department died, after the tanker they were responding in veered off the road, and then turned over and rolled several times in a corn field. The incident occurred while they were responding in Tanker 3 to a mutual aid call which had been dispatched as a grass fire, and which threatened nearby structures. The tanker was traveling west on a two-lane state road. As it approached the curve, the driver (Victim #2) lost control of the tanker. It drifted towards the shoulder of the road, as the driver tried to correct the direction of travel. Just past the curve it veered off the road and into a corn field. The tanker rolled on the passenger side (Victim #1's side), and continued to roll several times. Victim #2 was ejected out the driver's side window. Victim #1 was entrapped in the crushed upside-down cab and had to be extricated. He was transported to a local hospital and remained conscious and able to communicate, but died 7 days after the incident. Victim #2 was transported by ambulance to a local hospital then flown by life flight helicopter to a trauma center. He remained hospitalized and was conscious, but was unable to communicate and died 86 days after the incident. NIOSH investigators concluded that, to minimize the risk of similar incidents, fire departments should: ensure that operators of emergency vehicles operate them in a safe condition to avoid a skid
  
  ensure that all fire fighters riding in emergency fire apparatus are wearing and are belted securely by seat belts
  
  develop and follow standard operating procedures (SOPs) for safe operation of emergency vehicles. Although there is no evidence that they contributed to this fatal event, Recommendations #4, #5, and #6 are being provided as a reminder of good safety policy: develop and document an inspection, maintenance, and repair schedule for fire apparatus
  
  establish and maintain proper scene control and management
  
  ensure that all fire fighters have attended and successfully completed the minimal fire fighter training
  
  requirements required by their state and/or department.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Automobiles Emergencies Emergency Responders Firefighters Fires Occupational Health Safety Staff Development

  More +
• Keywords:
  Accident-analysis Accident-prevention Drivers Emergency-responders Emergency-response Fire-fighters Fire-fighting Fire-fighting-equipment Injury-prevention OSHA Region 5 Safety-belts Safety-education Training Traumatic-injuries Worker-health

  More +
• FACE - Firefighter:
  Cause of Death: Trauma ; Motor Vehicle: Emergency Vehicle
• Series:
  Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP)
• Subseries:
  Death in the Line of Duty Report
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHFFFACEF200010
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study ; Report
• Place as Subject:
  Indiana ; OSHA Region 5
• 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:20001001
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2004-104806
• 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 F2000-10, 2000 Jul ; :1-10
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2000
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  92 - Public Administration - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  1999/10/28
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:21f97bc8b07f8d5a6ac9ffb5c0a95f229be8fc059fc29f0ecf770675f58d5475c07f6ac3b0b2b1c9733f3d927d0452bab82966db1896279e506df4808ac5cc60
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/163917/cdc_163917_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 600.85 KB ]