Line of Duty Death Report: Career Firefighter Dies in Collapse Involving Lightweight Construction with Two Separate Maydays – South Carolina

Details

• Personal Author:
  Richardson, Michael ; Montague, Patrick R. ; Attwood, Wesley R.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP)
• Description:
  A 25-year-old career firefighter died on May 26, 2023, following a collapse of a multi-story lightweight construction apartment. At approximately 16:13 hours, the local 9-1-1 communications center dispatched a box alarm assignment to the reports of an apartment fire. Engine 6 (E6), Engine 13 (E13), Ladder 7 (L7), Ladder 175 (L175), Rescue 1 (R1), Battalion 2 (B2), and Battalion 1 (B1) were dispatched. Engine 1 (E1) added themselves to the response. At 16:16 hours, a working fire dispatch was added to the box alarm consisting of Engine 2 (E2), Fire 6 (F6), and Rehab 1. Due to the smoke plume that was visible in the sky while apparatus were responding, L7 requested a second alarm assignment prior to arrival adding Engine 171 (E171, apparatus of the deceased), Engine 9 (E9), Rescue 2 (R2), and Battalion 5 (B5). L7 arrived on-scene at 16:19 hours and reported a working fire in an occupied, three[1]story apartment building with fire visible on two sides and assumed command. Ladder 9 (L9) added themselves to the incident after hearing L7 s size up report. Fire was showing in the attic on Side Bravo with the Side Delta structure fully involved (see Photo 1). E6 arrived on-scene and began an offensive fire attack utilizing a 1 -inch attack line, attempted to establish a positive water supply, and prepared to supply the aerial ladder pipe to L7. B1 arrived on-scene and assigned himself as the division Alpha supervisor, passing command to B2 when they arrived on-scene at 16:20 hours. B2 served as the incident commander (IC) at the Side Alpha/Delta corner. At 16:22 hours, property management advised that occupants were still trapped within the structure. E6 was able to make a successful rescue of a trapped occupant on the second floor directly across the open breezeway from the original fire apartment. A seized hydrant cap limited the amount of water available for fire attack for several minutes. As the first alarm fire companies arrived on[1]scene, they worked to secure a secondary water supply and were assigned tasks by meeting face-to-face with the division Alpha supervisor at the front of the structure. E171 arrived on-scene at 16:26 hours and reported to the incident command post (ICP). E171 was assigned to stretch a 1 -inch attack line to the second floor of division Delta, but E6 was unable to provide adequate pressure on the attack line. E171 assumed the original attack line from E6 as they exited the original fire apartment. At 16:44 hours, a Mayday was transmitted reporting the collapse of the third floor with firefighters from E1 and R1 trapped. Less than a minute later the fourth-floor loft bedroom fell through the third floor and into the second floor, trapping the E171 crew. The rapid intervention crew (RIC) was deployed to assist the trapped firefighters and several other companies that had been working in the area assisted. Two firefighters from E171 were able to self-extricate and started working to locate and free the other two firefighters from E171. The third firefighter from E171 was pulled from the debris pile on the second floor, followed by the E1 and R1 firefighters from the third floor. After approximately 45 minutes, the fourth E171 firefighter was removed from the structure where he was transported to a local trauma center and pronounced deceased in the emergency room.
• Subjects:
  Emergency Responders Firefighters Fires Mortality Occupational Health Safety
• FACE - Firefighter:
  Cause of Death: Trauma ; Structure Fire: Non-Residential
• Series:
  Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP)
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study ; Case Report
• Place as Subject:
  South Carolina
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSR - Division of Safety Research ; DFSE - Division of Field Studies and Engineering
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  30 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Madrzykowski, Dan ; Stakes, Keith ; Way, Christopher E.
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20070980
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2025
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  922160 - Fire Protection - (NAICS 2022)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:831bbf5fc98e5c8ab3a9fb15ec5374aadbdc9123de5eab1887119fa234a7b95e95c93930cc13f604b55b37d17bf89c8c8b5a67bf99df7d9c1bde22e59bc4115f
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/232200/cdc_232200_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.07 MB ]