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:
  Accident-analysis Breathing-atmospheres Confined-spaces FACE-90-30 Firemen NIOSH-Author OSHA Region 3 Respirators Toxic-gases
• 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
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• 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
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f2fc97710817f40bf3507f30f3e65915b1d7b319c6a7f0b5f705f37bc241d494c131c3f982609e664a7691ca955ddfc914e3f32041e044e9f58200fcc50a4b3d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/164003/cdc_164003_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 45.94 KB ]