Carbon Monoxide Kills Three Volunteer Firefighters Inside Well in Pennsylvania

Details

• Personal Author:
  Manwaring, Jan C. ; Dower, John M. ; Casini, Virgil J. ; Bender, Thomas R.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP)
• Description:
  The deaths of three volunteer firefighters from carbon-monoxide (630080) inside a 33 foot deep water well were investigated. A total of four volunteer firefighters responded to a request from a local resident to remove the remains of a dead animal from a 33 foot deep well. The concrete well opening measured 18 inches by 22 inches, and the well shaft was about 5 by 7 feet. The firefighters attempted to pump the water out of the well using a 9 horsepower gasoline engine powered pump placed on a platform about 15 feet into the well. After turning on the engine, two firefighters on the platform began to suffer dizziness, and collapsed. The engine was turned off after 8 to 9 minutes. Eight volunteer firefighters entered the well in rescue attempts over approximately 3 hours. Only two of these wore supplied air respirators. One of the first two firefighters to enter the well was rescued and revived ; the second firefighter and two of the rescuers died. Two of the firefighters died of carbon-monoxide inhalation, and the third died of drowning, with loss of function due to carbon-monoxide inhalation. It is recommended that proper procedures for entering confined spaces be followed ; that a respiratory protection program be designed to protect firefighters from respiratory hazards ; and that volunteer firefighters be trained in the use and limitations of gasoline powered pumps and the hazards of carbon-monoxide in a confined area.
• Subjects:
  • Accidents, Occupational
  • Confined Spaces
  • Firefighters
  • Hazardous Substances
  • Occupational Health
  • Respiratory Protective Devices
  • Safety
• Keywords:
  • NIOSH-Author
  • OSHA Region 3
  • FACE-90-30
  • Accident-analysis
  • Confined-spaces
  • Firemen
  • Respirators
  • Toxic-gases
  • Breathing-atmospheres
• FACE - Firefighter:
  Cause of Death: Trauma ; Traumatic Cause: Miscellaneous
• Series:
  Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHFFFACE9030
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study ; Report
• Place as Subject:
  Pennsylvania ; OSHA Region 3
• 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:
  1-12
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00206140
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB92-183987
• Citation:
  Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, FACE 90-30, 1990 Dec ; :1-12
• CAS Registry Number:
  • Carbon monoxide (CAS RN 630-08-0)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1991
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  92 - Public Administration - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  1990/05/01
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/164003/cdc_164003_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 45.94 KB]
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f2fc97710817f40bf3507f30f3e65915b1d7b319c6a7f0b5f705f37bc241d494c131c3f982609e664a7691ca955ddfc914e3f32041e044e9f58200fcc50a4b3d