Career Battalion Chief Dies from Explosion While Fighting Tractor Trailer Fire – Georgia

Details

• Personal Author:
  Ringer SJ
• Description:
  On September 4, 2024, a 35-year-old career battalion chief (Battalion 1) died while operating at a tractor trailer fire. He was the command officer at the incident and was killed while investigating the type of cargo that was held within the refrigerated trailer involved in the fire. At approximately 0921 hours, the local public safety answering point (PSAP) received a call for a vehicle fire. While the incident was being dispatched to the responding units, the call type was updated to a tractor trailer fire with black smoke and multiple callers. Battalion 1 and Engine 11 were dispatched to the incident. Upon hearing the update from the dispatch center, Battalion 1 requested an additional engine company and that station 1 be re-paged for a tanker response. At approximately 0928 hours, Battalion 1 arrived on-scene and positioned past the involved tractor trailer, blocking traffic. Battalion 1 established command and sized the incident up as a tractor trailer fire with heavy fire involvement at the rear of the tractor, including tires and diesel fuel, with unknown cargo and occupant status. Battalion 1 provided a further update to all responding units that there was off-gassing at the rear of the tractor with an unknown source. He ordered Engine 11 to stop short, deploy an attack line from the front bumper, and utilize foam. Engine 11 stopped approximately 100' short of the involved tractor trailer and deployed the 100' 1 ¾-inch front bumper attack line. The Chief of the department (Chief 1101), who arrived just before Engine 11, assisted with deployment of the attack line. Engine 11's officer extended the line with a 50' section of attack line that was stored in the bumper well. At approximately 0931 hours, Battalion 1 updated dispatch that they had water on the fire and walked away from the engine crew. At approximately 0932 hours, while investigating at the rear of the trailer, Battalion 1 updated all units on-scene that the cargo was still unknown, but the rear of the trailer indicated it was refrigerated. At approximately 0933 hours, Battalion 1 attempted to open the rear trailer doors. The trailer exploded and Chief 1101 called to Battalion 1 on the radio stating they were okay. Battalion 1 did not acknowledge the message. At approximately 0934 hours, Chief 1101 updated dispatch that the trailer had exploded, was fully involved in fire, and he was going to check on Battalion 1. At approximately 0935 hours, Chief 1101 updated dispatch that Battalion 1 was down and requested air medical. At approximately 0937 hours, Chief 1101 assumed command of the incident and confirmed Battalion 1 was deceased on-scene. Contributing Factors - Standard operating procedures/guidelines (SOPs/SOGs); Incident command; Risk/benefit analysis; Staffing; Hazard recognition, including control zone establishment with unknown hazard. Key Recommendations - 1) Fire service organizations should develop and maintain SOPs/SOGs with industry best practices; 2) Incident Commanders (ICs) should establish an Incident Management System (IMS) at all incidents; 3) ICs should integrate risk assessment as a risk management practice into their fireground strategy and tactic SOGs/SOPs; 4) Fire service organizations should follow the appropriate standards for organization and deployment of fire suppression operations, emergency medical operations, and special operations; 5) ICs should establish control zones on incidents where immediately dangerous to life and health (IDLH) environments exist; 6) Fire service training should provide insight and education towards commonly unrecognized pressure vessels in the form of intermodal freight trailers and mixed cargo trailers. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accidents, Occupational Automobiles Emergency Responders Explosions Firefighters Fires Hazardous Substances Mortality Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Accident Analysis Emergency Responders Fatalities Fire Fighters Fire Fighting Hazard Recognition Motor Vehicles Region 4 Risk Assessment
• FACE - Firefighter:
  Cause of Death: Trauma ; Motor Vehicle ; Motor Vehicle: Miscellaneous
• Series:
  Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHFFFACEF202405
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study ; Case Report
• Place as Subject:
  Atlanta Region [OSHA] ; Georgia ; Philadelphia Region [OSHA] ; West Virginia
• 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:
  1-30
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20070759
• 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 F2024-05, 2025 Mar; :1-30
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2025
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  92 - Public Administration - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  20240904
• Source Full Name:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:2ecd7065f2d49fe27c129b4ccc69cd5dcd0b5c99782a140d58f6f52ea53c1f9109fec22d22057b7b888d93558c20af03b0f12baef5c2d2107ba17e68a589fd24
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/228521/cdc_228521_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.71 MB ]