Serious Injury Report F2026-02: Career Firefighter Injured After Falling from Ladder While Self-Extricating from Boarding House Fire - Pennsylvania

Details

• Personal Author:
  Attwood, Wesley R.
• Description:
  On February 20, 2026, one career firefighter was seriously injured after falling from a ladder while self-extricating from a boarding house fire. At approximately 10:45 hours, the public safety answering point (PSAP) received a 911 call reporting an electrical fire in the basement of a boarding house. At 10:46 hours, a box alarm assignment was dispatched for a high occupancy, electrical fire in the basement. At 10:48 hours, Engine 20-1 arrived on scene, and Lieutenant 20 reported smoke in the rear of the building. Utility 20 arrived on scene, and Captain 20 established command. Firefighters stretched a hoseline to the basement and extinguished the fire. Lieutenant 20 reported that the fire was knocked down and requested ventilation. Turbulent, heavy brown smoke came from the boarded-up windows on the first division near the basement door. At 10:53 hours, Captain 20 requested the second alarm. Ladder 24 arrived on scene and staged on Side Alpha. Ladder 24 firefighter (seriously injured) had a face-to-face with Captain 20, who assigned his crew to conduct a primary search. Ladder 24 firefighter entered the building as Ladder 24 driver/operator put on the rest of his personal protective equipment (PPE). At 10:55 hours, the PSAP dispatched the second alarm assignment. Captain 20 walked down the alley on Side Bravo and reported active fire from windows on the first division. Ladder 24 firefighter and driver/operator completed searches on the second division as the hallway started filling with heavy white smoke. Ladder 24 firefighter and driver/operator split up, and each found multiple victims, who were directed to the stairs to self-extricate. At 10:59 hours, Chief 20 assumed command and designated Chief 20-1 as operations. Between 11:00 and 11:05 hours, there were multiple reports of entrapments with requests for ladders on Sides Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie. Ladder 24 firefighter and Ladder 24 driver/operator went to the third division to continue searches. Ladder 24 firefighter instructed Ladder 24 driver/operator to continue the search on the third division while he (i.e., Ladder 24 firefighter) went to the fourth division to search for a reported victim. As smoke conditions worsened, Ladder 24 driver/operator exited the building to get a thermal imaging camera (TIC) from his apparatus. At 11:06 hours, Captain 20 reported active fire on the second division. Multiple firefighters rescued victims from windows on all sides. At 11:10 hours, Ladder 24 firefighter started to find his way out and his end-of-service-time indicator (EOSTI) later sounded. Conditions were zero visibility, and Ladder 24 firefighter tried to find his way by feel. He realized that he did not have enough air to exit the building. He found a room that he previously searched that had a window. As he broke and cleared the window, his facepiece sealed tightly to his face. His self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) also indicated he was out of air. He removed his regulator, placed his hood over the facepiece connection to filter breathe, and hung his head out of the window. Multiple reports of entrapments continued with requests for ladders. Between 11:11 and 11:14 hours, Ladder 24 firefighter made multiple radio transmissions reporting he was out of air and needed a ladder to the window. At 11:15 hours, Ladder 24 firefighter called a Mayday and activated his personal alert safety system (PASS). Chief 20 requested the PSAP to clear the radio channel for the Mayday and move all other on-scene communications to the next available channel. Firefighters on scene looked at the building's windows, trying to locate Ladder 24 firefighter. Due to the amount of smoke exiting the windows, he was not visible. At 11:19 hours, Chief 20 requested the PSAP announce to all units to evacuate the structure. Not being able to hear the radio and transmit clearly, Ladder 24 firefighter deactivated his PASS. As the wind blew the smoke periodically from the windows, firefighters on the ground momentarily saw Ladder 24 firefighter. Ladder 24 firefighter again reported he could not exit or breathe. He stated the need for a ladder and could see one below him. Firefighters raised a 35 ft ladder to his location after initially raising it to an adjacent window in another room. Lieutenant 24 and Engine 20-1 firefighter placed the ladder against the building by putting it under cable lines that were running to the building from a telephone pole. The ladder was close to live power lines coming from the same telephone pole. At 11:21 hours, Ladder 24 firefighter stepped out and onto the ladder after it was raised to the correct window. As Ladder 24 firefighter descended and reached the top of the second division windows, he stepped off the ladder after losing consciousness and fell more than 20 ft to the ground. At 11:30 hours, an EMS unit reported that Ladder 24 firefighter was loaded and transported to a local hospital. Contributing Factors: Fall from ladder during self-extrication; Strategy and tactics; Air management and firefighter survival; Crew integrity; Available personnel/adequate staffing; Pre-incident planning; Fire inspection and identification of hazards; Structured communications protocols; Termination of utilities. Key Recommendations - Fire departments should: 1) Assist Mayday firefighters down ground ladders during self-extrication when their medical status is unknown. 2) Ensure the first arriving firefighters choose initial and ongoing operational strategies based on the tactical considerations for buildings converted to residential or multiple dwellings. 3) Ensure firefighters and fire officers are properly trained in and use principles of air management and survival procedures for out-of-air emergencies. 4) Train firefighters and fire officers to maintain crew integrity when operating in the hazard zone. 5) Ensure that adequate staffing is available to respond to emergency incidents. 6) Develop a pre-incident plan for high-risk occupancies, such as boarding houses. Governing municipalities (federal, state, regional/county, and local) should: Partner with fire departments to enforce the applicable fire and life safety codes at high-risk occupancies, such as boarding houses. Public Safety Answering Points (federal, state, regional/county, and local) should have: Adequate staffing that allows dispatchers to be dedicated to an incident to support fireground operations, the incident commander, and Mayday management. Electric utility companies should: Ensure utilities are disconnected when requested by fire departments to support fireground operations and firefighter safety.
• Subjects:
  Accidental Falls Firefighters Fires Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Region 3; Fire fighters; Fire fighting; Emergency responders; Recommendations; Fire safety; Falls; Ladders; Hazard identification; Power lines; Communications equipment; Safety practices
• FACE - Firefighter:
  Cause of Death Trauma (0004) ; Structure Fire (0011) ; Residential (0012) ; Miscellaneous (structure fire) (0017)
• Source:
  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 F2026-02, 2026 Apr; :1-27
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  Firefighter Fatality Investigation
• DOI:
  10.26616/NIOSHFFFACEF202602
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Pennsylvania ; 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:
  30 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20071537
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2026
• NORA Priority Area:
  Public Safety
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  92 - Public Administration - (NAICS 2022)
• Start Date:
  20260220
• Resource Number:
  59278861
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:4546a6ffa60a41accefa487c3fbbe01442ad8ed4b30aa2a5245a3091cb2a1ff42cbff82b10fc2647dd70339842910c09c061a2cfe247441ad48523ce7e38f5fe
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/259131/cdc_259131_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.86 MB ]