Line of Duty Death Report F2022-03: 35-Year Old Volunteer Firefighter Dies from Smoke Inhalation Injury Sustained During Initial Fire Attack - Kansas

Details

• Personal Author:
  Eisenberg, Judith S. ; Saunders, Robert ; Wilkinson, Andrea
• Description:
  On June 20, 2022, at about 2253 hours, a building fire was reported in a small rural city in Kansas. Personnel from two jurisdictions, the City and County Volunteer Fire Departments (FDs), were dispatched and arrived to find moderate smoke conditions in a commercial building. A 35-year-old firefighter (FF1) responded to the fire and was assigned to be part of the initial attack crew. Fire origin was thought to be on the 2nd floor, which was accessible by interior stairs. However, due to heavy smoke, the attack team had difficulty finding the stairs. The team exited the structure and received detailed directions to the stairs, retrieved a thermal imaging camera, and reentered the building at approximately 2319. FF1 fell backwards down the stairs and experienced a catastrophic loss of air pressure at 2322. Shortly afterwards, a Mayday was called for firefighter down. The rapid intervention team (RIT) found FF1 face down and unresponsive on the floor near the base of the stairs. FF1 was removed from the building and placed in the waiting ambulance. Once outside, it was noted that his mask was off. He had a pulse but was not breathing, so CPR was initiated. Soot was noted in his airway when he was intubated. Intraosseous access was obtained during EMS ground transport to a rendezvous location with EMS air transport at 2349. On the way to the emergency department (ED), he went into cardiac arrest. However, with resuscitation efforts, he regained spontaneous circulation. On arrival at the ED, at 2352, he was still unresponsive. Imaging done at the time of his admission to the ICU showed a severe anoxic brain injury. He did not exhibit any brain stem reflexes. A brain perfusion scan done the following day showed no cerebral blood flow. He was pronounced dead at 1205 on June 22, 2022. Key Recommendations: NIOSH offers the following recommendations to reduce the risk of smoke inhalation injuries and sudden cardiac arrest among firefighters at this and other fire rescue agencies across the country. Key Recommendation #1: Reinforce self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) training to include equipment familiarization and use in Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health (IDLH) environments, such as structure fires. Ensure firefighters keep their mask on when operating in IDLH environments to reduce the risk of inhaling hot gases and combustion products. Key Recommendation #2: Firefighters wearing full face masks should groom facial hair as to not impede the seal formed by the mask. This requirement is outlined in OSHA 29 CFR 1910.134 and NFPA 1404 Standard for Fire Service Respiratory Protection Training. Fit testing should also occur, at minimum, once per year, following guidelines from the NFPA 1500 Standard on Fire Department Occupational Safety, Health, and Wellness Program and OSHA 29 CFR 1910.134(k). Key Recommendation #3: Adopt and comply with OSHA mandatory record keeping components of a respiratory protection program and regular SCBA maintenance and recordkeeping. Key Recommendation #4: Encourage training of all firefighters on NFPA 1407 Standard for Training Fire Service Rapid Intervention Crews to promote safety and survival.
• Subjects:
  Accidents, Occupational Firefighters Fires Mortality Occupational Health Safety Smoke Inhalation Injury
• Keywords:
  Region 7; Fire fighters; Fire fighting; Fatalities; Emergency responders; Recommendations; Smoke inhalation; Self contained breathing apparatus; SCBA; Training
• FACE - Firefighter:
  Cause of Death Medical (0000) ; Non-Cardiac (0002) ; 0053
• 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:
  Kansas ; Ohio ; Kansas City Region [OSHA] ; Chicago Region [OSHA]
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DFSE - Division of Field Studies and Engineering
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  20 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20071029
• Citation:
  Cincinnati, OH: 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 F2022-03, 2025 Jun; :1-18
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2025
• NORA Priority Area:
  Public Safety
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  92 - Public Administration - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  20220620
• Source Full Name:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:3bd6cbcb008586ddd4429cc717eb7f0d3b6af8ea63275907e44bfb8885f0d9a15248ad97fafbd6e4a2204894d508b30f089f517c20721a56ae980ca803658c46
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/257805/cdc_257805_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.69 MB ]