Serious Injury Report: Career Firefighter Seriously Injured During Search Operations in a Residential Structure Fire – Oregon

Details

• Personal Author:
  Lago, Louis (Rick) ; Montague, Patrick R. ; Attwood, Wesley R. ; Stakes, Keith
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP)
• Description:
  On May 30, 2024, a 33-year-old career firefighter (E31FF1), was seriously injured during flashover while conducting search operations in a one-story residential structure. A second firefighter (E31FF2), partnered with E31FF1, also suffered injuries during the event. At 21:02 hours, multiple 9-1-1 calls were received reporting a structure fire. Several of the calls reported occupants in the structure. The following units were dispatched: Photo 1: Side Alpha of the structure post-fire. Engine 31 (E31), Engine 74 (E74), Engine 73 (E73), Engine 71 (E71), Truck 71 (T71), and Battalion Chief 7 (BC7). Rescue 31 (R31) was also added. At 21:07 hours, E31 arrived on-scene. The E31 officer gave a quick size-up and assumed Command. E31 s crew, E31FF1 and E31FF2, were assigned fire suppression. As they were preparing to enter the structure, multiple civilians indicated a child with disabilities was trapped in the home. They decided to make a quick entry without a hoseline from the Side Alpha entry door. R31 arrived on-scene and was assigned to proceed with establishing a backup hoseline. Command reported E31 s change of assignment confirming they were not in possession of a hoseline when they entered the structure. Command then ordered R31 to perform fire suppression; however, there was a delay in R31 initiating a fire attack. The occupant approached R31 s crew frantically telling them her child was in the structure. As an E31 crew entered the structure, they traveled down a center wall and made a right turn to a hallway. As they proceeded down the hallway, they encountered a bedroom on the right side (Side Alpha). E31FF2 entered the first bedroom on Side Alpha while E31FF1 proceeded to look in the second bedroom located on Side Alpha/Delta corner. Conditions were rapidly changing and E31FF1 informed E31FF2 that we need to get out of here. During this time, an R31 crew retrieved and put a hoseline in service outside the structure, but there was no water pressure. The preconnected hoseline was kinked at the discharge located on the right side of the pumper. As E31 s crew started to exit the structure they traveled down the hallway toward Side Bravo. A flashover occurred with fire traveling throughout the entire interior open space consisting of the living room, dining area, and kitchen. When E31FF2 got to the end of the hallway he turned left, leading him to the Side Alpha entry door exiting the structure. However, E31FF1 became disoriented and traveled across the living room toward the Side Bravo wall. Becoming more confused and disoriented he reversed direction, returning down the hallway, until he got to the end. He reentered the bedroom at the Side Alpha/Delta Corner which he was searching previously and exited out of the bedroom window. Once on the exterior of the building, he was treated by advanced life support (ALS) personnel and was transported to a hospital burn center. The fire was extinguished, and no occupants were inside the structure. E31FF1 sustained third degree burns covering 45% of his body.
• Subjects:
  Emergency Responders Firefighters Fires Mortality Occupational Health Safety
• FACE - Firefighter:
  Cause of Death: Trauma ; Structure Fire: Residential
• Series:
  Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP)
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study ; Case Report
• Place as Subject:
  Oregon
• 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:
  20 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Madrzykowski, Dan ; Chalfant, Brian
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20070984
• 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:b696401608f447311c6e033c197cabb5965fbd5d3c322a45c48bbf2a44b9e4af8fb9fe7b86394d342b27183dfae8c286c21af73cba5dfdbddd6c229f751439e6
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/232206/cdc_232206_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.02 MB ]