Line of Duty Death Report 2022-01: Three Firefighters Die and Another Seriously Injured During the Collapse of an Abandoned, Derelict, 3-Story Row House Fire - Maryland

Details

• Personal Author:
  Funke, Jeffrey ; Attwood, Wesley R. ; Haas, Emily J.
• Description:
  On January 24, 2022, a 33-year-old firefighter/EMT (acting company officer), a 37-year-old lieutenant/EMT, and a 30-year-old firefighter/paramedic died in a structural collapse of a 3-story abandoned, derelict row house. Additionally, a 47-year-old firefighter/EMT was seriously injured in the collapse. At 05:51 hours, the city's Fire Communications Bureau (FCB) received numerous calls of a reported structure fire. Several addresses were reported, and one caller stated there were three children trapped inside the home. The FCB dispatched the alarm at 05:53 hours which consisted of Engine 55, Engine 14, Engine 23, Engine 36, Engine 47, Truck 23, Truck 10, Rescue 1, Battalion Chief 6 (BC 6), Battalion Chief 3 (BC 3), and Medic 21. At 05:55 hours, Engine 14 arrived on-scene and established a water supply. The officer reported fire showing on the second and third floors of a 3-story row house and assumed command. Truck 23 arrived and was positioned on Side Alpha. Engine 14's pipe firefighter (nozzleman) stretched a 1¾-inch hose line off Engine 14 and entered the front door on Side Alpha backed up by the acting officer (deceased firefighter). They began to knock down the fire on the first floor as they advanced into the structure. The lieutenant of Truck 23 (deceased firefighter) also entered to begin a primary search. Engine 55 and Truck 10 were initiating firefighting operations on Side Charlie. At 05:57 hours, BC 3 arrived, assumed command, and requested a "working fire" dispatch. At approximately 06:00 hours, a total collapse of all interior floors of the fire building occurred. Three firefighters from Engine 14, one firefighter from Truck 23, and two firefighters from Engine 36 were inside at the time of the collapse. Engine 36 firefighters were initially trapped but were able to self-extricate. A Mayday was called followed by a request for a 2nd Alarm at 06:07 hours. One firefighter (seriously injured) from Engine 14 was located and extricated by a rapid intervention team (RIT) from Engine 23 at 06:14 hours. The pipe firefighter from Engine 14 was located but was trapped by structural components. He was extricated at 07:39 hours and transported to a local shock trauma facility where he was pronounced deceased. The Engine 14 officer was located and the RIT continued extrication efforts. At 08:18 hours, the Engine 14 officer was removed from the structure and transported to a local shock trauma facility where she was also pronounced deceased. All operations were stopped due to the lack of structural stability of the building and falling materials. The incident commander (IC) announced a strategy change to transition from a rescue to a recovery operation. At 16:08 hours, the Truck 23 lieutenant was recovered and transported to the Medical Examiner's office. The incident was declared under control at 16:08 hours. Contributing Factors: Standard operating procedures (SOPs)/standard operating guidelines (SOGs) for fighting fires in abandoned, derelict structures. Training for firefighters, officers, and safety officers on SOPs and SOGs for fighting fires in row homes, with a focus on fire progression and structural collapse safety. Initial scene size-up and ongoing risk assessment by the first arriving resource. Resources committed to an offensive interior fire suppression operation with an incomplete riskversus-gain analysis (offensive vs. defensive). Incident fire structure in a severe state of neglect, disrepair, with structural instability from a previous fire event. Arson. Key Recommendations - Fire departments should: Develop and implement SOPs for an identification/marking system for fighting fires in vacant/abandoned/derelict buildings as part of a comprehensive High-Risk Building program. Provide comprehensive training for firefighters, officers, and safety officers on SOPs and SOGs for fighting fires and understanding fire development in row houses, while also incorporating structural collapse principles into fire ground incident management. Ensure the first arriving resource completes an initial scene size-up and risk assessment and reassesses as fire conditions progress. Consider exterior fire control (defensive strategy) when the initial size-up reveals heavy fire conditions indicating risk of collapse. Additionally, governing municipalities (federal, state, regional/county, and local) should: Collaborate with fire departments to develop and implement strategies for the identification and remediation (demolition) of condemned High-Risk buildings.
• Subjects:
  Firefighters Fires Mortality Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Region 3; Fire fighters; Fire fighting; Fatalities; Emergency responders; Recommendations; Fire safety; Accident analysis; Training; Structural failure
• FACE - Firefighter:
  Cause of Death Trauma (0004) ; Structure Fire (0011) ; Residential (0012) ; Collapse (0014)
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  Firefighter Fatality Investigation
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study ; Report
• Place as Subject:
  Maryland ; West Virginia ; Philadelphia Region [OSHA]
• 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:
  50 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20071004
• 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 F2022-01, 2025 Apr; :1-47
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2025
• NORA Priority Area:
  Public Safety
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  92 - Public Administration - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  20220124
• 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:bf79b48f76e1751882f717afa9cf71f8155d58551e4c40fd5f749913dc6e6a1e15681d5b9c726922311a3dae809682a50f76b7d671162c7d3a8e2abf2a468edb
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/257783/cdc_257783_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.60 MB ]