Career Probationary Fire Fighter and Captain Die as a Result of Rapid Fire Progression in a Wind-Driven Residential Structure Fire – Texas [revised 2014-12-08]

Details

• Personal Author:
  Merinar, Timothy R. ; Tarley, Jay L. ; Miles, Stephen 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
  
  Shortly after midnight on Sunday, April 12, 2009, a 30-year old male career probationary fire fighter and a 50-year old male career captain were killed when they were trapped by rapid fire progression in a wind-driven residential structure fire. The victims were members of the first arriving company and initiated fast attack offensive interior operations through the front entrance. Less than six minutes after arriving on-scene, the victims became disoriented as high winds pushed the rapidly growing fire through the den and living room areas where interior crews were operating. Seven other fire fighters were driven from the structure but the two victims were unable to escape. Rescue operations were immediately initiated but had to be suspended as conditions deteriorated. The victims were located and removed from the structure approximately 40 minutes after they arrived on location. Key contributing factors identified in this investigation include: an inadequate size-up prior to committing to tactical operations
  
  lack of understanding of fire behavior and fire dynamics
  
  fire in a void space burning in a ventilation controlled regime
  
  high winds
  
  uncoordinated tactical operations, in particular fire control and tactical ventilation
  
  failure to protect the means of egress with a backup hose line
  
  inadequate fireground communications
  
  and failure to react appropriately to deteriorating conditions. NIOSH investigators concluded that, to minimize the risk of similar occurrences, fire departments should: 1.) Ensure that an adequate initial size-up and risk assessment of the incident scene is conducted before beginning interior fire fighting operations. 2.) Ensure that fire fighters and officers have a sound understanding of fire behavior and the ability to recognize indicators of fire development and the potential for extreme fire behavior (such as smoke color, velocity, density, visible fire, heat). 3.) Ensure that fire fighters are trained to recognize the potential impact of windy conditions on fire behavior and implement appropriate tactics to mitigate the potential hazards of wind-driven fire. 4.) Ensure that fire fighters understand the influence of ventilation on fire behavior and effectively apply ventilation and fire control tactics in a coordinated manner. 5.) Ensure that fire fighters and officers understand the capabilities and limitations of thermal imaging cameras (TIC) and that a TIC is used as part of the size-up process. 6.) Ensure that fire fighters are trained to check for fire in overhead voids upon entry and as charged hoselines are advanced. 7.) Develop, implement and enforce a detailed Mayday Doctrine to insure that fire fighters can effectively declare a Mayday. 8.) Ensure fire fighters are trained in fireground survival procedures. 9.). Ensure all fire fighters on the fire ground are equipped with radios capable of communicating with the Incident Commander and Dispatch. Additionally, research and standard setting organizations should conduct research to more fully characterize the thermal performance of self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) facepiece lens materials and other personal protective equipment (PPE) components to ensure SCBA and PPE provide an appropriate level of protection. Although there is no evidence that the following recommendation could have specifically prevented the fatalities, NIOSH investigators recommend that fire departments ensure that all fire fighters recognize the capabilities and limitations of their personal protective equipment when operating in high temperature environments.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Emergency Responders Firefighters Occupational Health Safety Safety Management Staff Development
• Keywords:
  Accident-prevention Emergency-responders Equipment-design Fire-fighters Fire-fighting Injuries Injury-prevention OSHA Region 6 Safety-measures Safety-practices Surveillance Training Traumatic-injuries

  More +
• FACE - Firefighter:
  Cause of Death: Trauma ; Structure Fire: Residential ; Structure Fire: Miscellaneous
• Series:
  Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP)
• Subseries:
  Death in the Line of Duty Report
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHFFFACEF200911
• 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:
  1-58
• Contributor:
  Martin, Ed ; Clark, Burton A. ; Bryner, Nelson ; Madrzykowski, Dan
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20036682
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2010-108309
• 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 F2009-11, 2010 Apr ; :1-58
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2010
• NORA Priority Area:
  Services: Public Safety
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  92 - Public Administration - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  2009/04/12
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:6ef7658cb4ba885b2155898d65585035bc38cfade274d0d8d5d257a9ae34dfabdc74fed67d1325cb67b43eaca0eaba170e6ae2981036ca0fda919b61b8a08cf5
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/164011/cdc_164011_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.51 MB ]