Line of Duty Death Report Report Slides F2021-11: Firefighter Dies and Lieutenant Seriously Injured at a Multi-Family Residential Structure Fire - Connecticut

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (U.S.)
• Description:
  On May 12, 2021, a 30-year-old career firefighter died, a lieutenant was seriously injured, and two firefighters suffered minor injuries while fighting a fire in a two-story multi-family residential structure. At 00:46 hours, the city's fire dispatch center transmitted a box alarm assignment for Box 1501 for a residential structure fire. The first Alarm dispatched was Car 34, Engine 15, Engine 9, Engine 6, Truck 4, Truck 1, Rescue 1, Special Operations Command (SOC) 1, and Emergency 2 (EMS 2). At 00:50 hours, the fire dispatcher alerted Car 34 there was an occupant still in the house on the 1st floor and the fire was in the basement. At 00:51 hours, Engine 15 advised this was a "working" fire. At 00:52 hours, Engine 9 indicated a female occupant was trapped in a bedroom on Side Delta and Side Charlie. Engine 6 arrived on-scene at 00:53 hours and backed down the street to Engine 15, which was the attack piece. Engine 6 Hydrant (deceased firefighter) took five lengths of 1¾-inch hoseline to Engine 15 and made the connection for fire attack. Engine 6 stretched the hoseline into the house to the 2nd floor. Engine 6 (PAR 3) got to the 2nd floor via the front stairs at 01:02 hours. Engine 6 Lieutenant (who was carrying a thermal imager), Engine 6 Pipe, and Engine 6 Hydrant also got to the 2nd floor using the front stairs. Engine 6 Lieutenant called for the hoseline to be charged and had Engine 6 Pipe cool down the front room (living room), which was also located on the 2nd floor. Engine 6 Lieutenant went into the Side Delta bedroom which was very hot. The End of Service Time Indicators (EOSTIs) for the Engine 6 firefighters began to sound and Engine 6 Lieutenant told Engine 6 Pipe and Engine 6 Hydrant that they needed to leave to change air cylinders. Engine 6 Pipe left the hoseline and exited the 2nd floor. Engine 6 Lieutenant and Engine 6 Hydrant became separated. In this confusion, Engine 6 Lieutenant's facepiece and helmet became dislodged. Eventually, Engine 6 Hydrant ran out of air, became disoriented, and was trying to get out of the room. Engine 6 Hydrant walked/crawled and got between a radiator and a couch in the living room underneath two windows on Side Alpha. He was running low on air and called a Mayday at 01:16 hours, which was acknowledged by the incident commander (IC). At 01:17 hours, Engine 6 Lieutenant called IC and said "I have a firefighter down on the 2nd floor." At 01:18 hours, Engine 6 Lieutenant called a Mayday. Engine 6 Lieutenant was located by Rescue 1 Hook. The firefighter found Engine 6 Lieutenant in the living room near the entrance to the kitchen. Engine 6 Lieutenant had his facepiece off and was standing when the firefighter found him. He said, "Help me," and then fell into the firefighter. Engine 6 Lieutenant's helmet was found in the Side Alpha/Side Bravo corner near Engine 6 Hydrant and his gloves were off. Rescue 1 Hook was trying to get Engine 6 Lieutenant to the stairs but ended up in a bedroom (Side Delta/Side Alpha corner) at approximately 01:20 hours. Rescue 1 Hook knocked the glass out of a window with a gloved hand. Firefighters from Engine 4 and Engine 9 got ground ladders to the windows. Rescue 1 Hook tried to get Engine 6 Lieutenant out the window, but he was too heavy. Rescue 1 Hook had to leave due to being low on air. Once he was on the ground, he advised Car 31 where Engine 6 Lieutenant was located. At approximately 01:21 hours, Rescue 1 Irons made his way into the living room. He found Engine 6 Hydrant lying prone near a couch with his facepiece on, but he was out of air. Rescue 1 Irons attempted to drag Engine 6 Hydrant to the front windows. The officer from Truck 1 climbed into the front window on Side Alpha at 01:23 hours. When he got into the front room (living room), he heard a personal alert safety system (PASS) alarm sounding. He found Rescue 1 Irons trying to get Engine 6 Hydrant out from between the couch and a radiator underneath the front windows. The firefighters tried to take Engine 6 Hydrant out through the front windows but were not able to do so. Rescue 1 Irons and the Truck 1 officer had to leave due to being low on air. Once outside, the Truck 1 officer described Engine 6 Hydrant's location to Engine 11. Engine 11 entered the building, went up the front stairs, and found Engine 6 Hydrant behind the couch. Engine 11 brought him down the front stairs to the outside at 01:33 hours. Firefighters from Engine 4 and Engine 9 got Engine 6 Lieutenant out of the house at at the same time. Both Engine 6 Lieutenant and Engine 6 Hydrant were transported to a local university trauma center at 01:36 hours. Engine 6 Hydrant was declared deceased at 02:12 hours. Engine 6 Lieutenant was later transferred to a trauma hospital with a hyperbaric chamber for treatment and recovery. The fire at Box 1501 was declared under control at 03:23 hours. Contributing Factors: Scene size-up and risk assessment; Crew integrity; Air management and firefighter survival; Basement/below-grade fire operations; Mayday management; Rapid intervention crew/team; Incident Safety Officer (ISO); Incident Command Technician (ICT); Professional development. Key Recommendations - Fire departments should ensure: Initial and ongoing size-ups and risk assessments are conducted throughout the incident. Company officers and firefighters maintain crew integrity when operating in the hazard zone. Fire officers and firefighters are properly trained and utilize the principles of air management and fireground survival procedures. Fire department operations include Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)/Standard Operating Guidelines (SOGs) for operating at basements and below-grade fires. Fire officers and firefighters are trained in Mayday operations. A rapid intervention team/crew is dedicated, assigned, and in place before interior firefighting operations begin and throughout an incident. Response plans include a dedicated and trained ISO. Operational battalion chiefs are staffed with an ICT or staff aide. Implementation of a training, education, and professional development program that is based upon each rank.
• Subjects:
  Accidents, Occupational Firefighters Fires Mortality Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Region 1; Fire fighters; Fire fighting; Fatalities; Emergency responders; Recommendations; Safety practices; Accident analysis; Communications equipment; Hazard recognition; Training
• FACE - Firefighter:
  Cause of Death Trauma (0004) ; Structure Fire (0011) ; Residential (0012)
• 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:
  Connecticut ; West Virginia ; Boston Region [OSHA] ; 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:
  19 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20071027
• 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, F2021-11, 2025 May; :1-19
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2025
• NORA Priority Area:
  Public Safety
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  92 - Public Administration - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  20210512
• 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:c9f284d8bd5cfeada58196ecc123b9e9b4aefc22163b6011ae7d940d44337e8ec0333e2425ac392be22d74f5f40e392b5fcfc1934b72e2888811cf6464d33a28
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/257803/cdc_257803_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 891.63 KB ]