Line of Duty Death Report Visual Extension: One Firefighter Dies and Another Injured in Natural Gas Line Explosion – Wisconsin

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health ; Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP) (U.S.)
• Description:
  On July 10, 2018, a 34-year old paid-on-call/volunteer fire Captain died, and another firefighter was injured in a building explosion while responding to a report of a natural gas leak. Fire department was dispatched for a report of gas odor at an intersection approximately 1 block away from the fire station. The initial arriving crew immediately began evacuating the surrounding buildings and the Incident Commander called for additional personnel to respond from the station. A Captain and several other firefighters arrived following the staffing request. After checking in with the Incident Commander, the Captain, along with firefighters from the initial responding crew, entered a building near the suspected leak to control utilities in the basement. As the crew was exiting, the building exploded. Contributing Factors: 1) Sub-contractor performing unpermitted directional boring for underground utility; 2) Natural gas leak caused by directional boring; 3) Natural gas line explosion; 4) Responders working in blast radius at time of explosion; 5) Captain and crew entered building previously evacuated during primary search to attempt to control utilities. Key Recommendations: 1) Fire departments should refer to the 2020 Emergency Response Guidebook and operate outside of the hot zone once civilians are evacuated. 2) Fire departments should ensure that Incident Commanders continuously evaluate the risk versus gain when making operational decisions during evacuation operations. 3) Fire departments should ensure that firefighters are trained in situational awareness, personal safety, and accountability. 4) Fire Departments should ensure that their members (and specifically their hazardous materials teams) are provided and trained in the latest tactics and equipment for detecting and responding to hazardous materials situations, including gas leaks. 5) Governing municipalities (federal, state, regional, and local) should work with civilians to educate them on the hazards of gas leaks and the need to immediately evacuate when public safety workers (fire and police) direct them to do so. The full version of this report is available here: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/fire/reports/face201812.html. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Emergency Responders Explosions Firefighters Fires Hazardous Substances Mortality Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Emergency Responders Explosion Prevention Explosive Gases Fatalities Fire Fighters Fire Fighting Hazardous Materials Natural Gas Recommendations Region 5 Traumatic Injuries

  More +
• FACE - Firefighter:
  Cause of Death: Trauma ; Structure Fire ; Structure Fire: Non-Residential ; Structure Fire: Explosion
• Series:
  Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHFACE201812V
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study ; Case Report
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5 ; West Virginia ; Wisconsin
• 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:20063086
• 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 F2018-12 WI, 2021 Jul; :1-10
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2021
• NORA Priority Area:
  Public Safety
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  92 - Public Administration - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  20180710
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:a4d3be3df184e91e6c080f9032f1999a5d070bb67dddce077801227155588556976903c14f428f330e7b007a3d98bcb5c6300f49e169b7065458486d2ff512b9
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/228493/cdc_228493_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 386.53 KB ]