Fire Fighter Suffers a Fatal Heart Attack After Being Engaged in Extensive Fire Suppression Duties – Massachusetts

Details

• Personal Author:
  Hales, Thomas R. ; Sylvain, David C.
• 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 April 28, 1999, a 56-year-old male volunteer fire fighter responded to a structural fire in a three-story wood-framed building, where he was actively engaged in fire suppression duties for over 2 and a half hours. Approximately 20 minutes after leaving the fire scene he collapsed in his home. Cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was initially administered by the victim's wife, and then by fire fighters trained as emergency medical technicians (EMT). EMTs also connected the victim to a semi-automatic external defibrillator (SAED) and a single shock (defibrillation) was successful in returning a weak peripheral pulse to the victim. Unfortunately, shortly after arrival in the local hospital's emergency department, the victim suffered a second cardiac arrest. Fifteen minutes of CPR and advanced life support (ALS) measures were again successful at reviving the victim, but he remained unconscious and in critical condition. He was flown to a regional tertiary hospital, where 4 days of intensive measures were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead on May 2, 1999. The death certificate, completed by the treating physician (Certifying Physician), listed "coronary thrombosis" as the immediate cause of death, due to "ventricular tachycardia," with "hypertension" being an "other significant condition contributing to [the] death." No autopsy was performed. 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) minimizing 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: Fire Fighters should have annual medical evaluations to determine their medical ability to perform duties without presenting a significant risk to the safety and health of themselves or others
  
  Fire fighters should be provided with medical evaluations to wear self -contained breathing apparatus (SCBA)
  
  All personnel entering a potentially hazardous atmosphere should wear an SCBA
  
  Carboxyhemoglobin levels should be tested on symptomatic or unresponsive fire fighters exposed to smoke
  
  Autopsies should be performed on all on-duty fire fighters whose death may be cardiovascular-related
  
  Fire fighters experiencing signs and symptoms of heart attacks while on duty should report them to their supervisor/incident commander for prompt medical evaluation
  
  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-function Cardiovascular-system-disease Cardiovascular-system-disorders Emergency-responders Fire-fighters Fire-fighting Heart Medical-screening OSHA Region 1 Physical-capacity 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/NIOSHFFFACE99F19
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study ; Report
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies ; OD - Office of the Director
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-11
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20000418
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB99-172959
• 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 99-F19, 1999 Aug ; :1-11
• CAS Registry Number:
  Carbon monoxide (CAS RN 630-08-0)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1999
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  92 - Public Administration - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  1999/04/28
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:dccaed396a660704efd199b92fb97776b7f3d36b81e01fac9b17b721228d696ab86f5ad1df5c4469e4746ff7fca16141e579f07484d90990c01fd4dcae72f907
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/163941/cdc_163941_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 328.60 KB ]