Line of Duty Death Report: Report Slides: Two Career Land-Based Firefighters Die After Becoming Lost and Running Out of Air During a Marine Vessel Fire in Port – New Jersey

Details

• Personal Author:
  Richardson, Michael ; Attwood, Wesley R.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP)
• Description:
  On July 5, 2023, two career land-based firefighters died after becoming lost and running out of air while conducting a fire attack during a marine vessel fire in port. At 07:00 hours, a 692-foot roll-on/roll-off (ro/ro) vessel with a crew of 28 commenced vehicle loading operations while dockside in a port. At 21:00 hours, port workers and vessel crew members noticed a vehicle on deck 10 was on fire. Crew members immediately employed portable fire extinguishers and a shipboard water hoseline but were unsuccessful at controlling the fire. At 21:22, after evacuating the cargo decks and activating the emergency ventilation stop, the vessel s fixed carbon dioxide system was discharged for 10 minutes into cargo decks 6 to 11. The vessel s crew members then formed fire teams and deployed hoselines to fight vehicle fires and conduct boundary cooling. At 21:25 hours, fire department units were dispatched to a reported fire aboard the ro/ro vessel: Engines 5, 14, 16, 27; Ladders 4, 5, 8; Rescue 1l; Battalions 4, 5, and DC1. The incident commander staged at the top of the rear/stern ramp on deck 3 and was joined by the vessel s Chief Mate to provide an update on the situation. The incident commander canceled all mutual aid at 21:47 hours. Between 21:36 22:04 hours, firefighters from Engine 27 and Ladder 4 entered deck 11 and 10 to assess the fire situation and report findings. They encountered heavy smoke conditions on deck 11 and active fire on deck 10. Firefighters discovered their fire department hose did not connect to the vessel s hose stations. They used the vessel s hoses to extinguish vehicle fires on deck 10. At 22:14 hours, Ladder 4 s captain noticed structural damage, including a twisted/warped steel I-beam, and left the deck to provide an update on the conditions. At 22:17 hours, Engine 16 s captain and firefighter (deceased firefighter) entered deck 10 and assisted the remaining Ladder 4 firefighter (deceased firefighter). Conditions rapidly deteriorated and all three firefighters were ordered to withdraw. While evacuating, Engine 16 s captain realized he was no longer in contact with the other firefighters. At 22:23 hours, a Mayday was called by a firefighter stating they were lost. Ladder 5 and Rescue 1 were deployed to deck 10 to search for the missing firefighters. Engine 16 firefighter was located by Ladder 5 and Rescue 1 at 22:40 hours. From 22:41 to 23:58 hours, firefighters from several companies rotated in and out on deck 10 to facilitate the rescue of the Engine 16 firefighter. Mutual aid resources were requested and began to arrive on-scene. Ladder 4 firefighter was located on deck 10 at 02:08 hours the next day, July 6, 2023. Both firefighters were removed from the vessel and pronounced deceased upon arrival to the hospital. At 06:40 hours, all onboard firefighting efforts ceased, and the vessel s crew abandoned the ship. The fire was finally extinguished by a private team of salvors/marine vessel firefighters on July 10, 2023.
• Subjects:
  Emergency Responders Firefighters Fires Mortality Occupational Health Safety
• FACE - Firefighter:
  Cause of Death: Trauma ; Structure Fire: Non-Residential ; Structure Fire: Miscellaneous ; Water: Miscellaneous
• Series:
  Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP)
• Document Type:
  Still Image
• Genre:
  Field Study ; Case Report
• Place as Subject:
  New Jersey
• 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:
  12 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20070990
• 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:c6e5366a05549e111fc07b21a40ad399ea062e182de363121211d0ed3a6de3d40ee7f7ec8c27a4237436214091906dd9bd6e984f1f16e61a84a30b24a5d34b21
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/232203/cdc_232203_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 546.82 KB ]