NFPA Journal - July/August 2012 - (Page 76)

2011 firefighter fatalities Trapped in Apartment Building Fire At 7:18 p.m., the 911 call center received a telephone call from an occupant reporting a fire in the six-unit apartment building in which she lived. The building, which was part of a larger complex, was a three-story, wood-frame structure with a brick veneer that had a ground floor area of 2,000 square feet (186 square meters). The fire began when food was left cooking unattended in the kitchen of a first-floor apartment, and fire spread throughout the apartment, out the patio doors, and up the exterior of the building to a second-story apartment. It also spread into the common hallway and up to the third floor. Four engine companies, two aerial ladder companies, one floodlight unit, a medic unit, and a chief officer were initially dispatched to the scene. When the first engine company arrived, crew members reported smoke showing, and an additional engine company and rescue unit were dispatched. During rescue operations, one occupant was rescued over a ground ladder from the third floor, and another was taken, unconscious, from the second story of the building. An acting officer and a firefighter, both dressed in full personal protective equipment (PPE) including self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), entered the building and made their way to the third floor to search the area above the apartment of origin. As they did, fire conditions deteriorated, and there was a rapid buildup of heat and thick, black smoke. The firefighter, who was searching a bedroom, was able to escape out a window and slide down a ground ladder using a headfirst bailout maneuver. However, the acting officer became trapped and initiated a “Mayday” 25 minutes after the first company arrived on scene. While trying to find a way out, he continued to communicate as conditions worsened. At some point, a flashover occurred. Rescue efforts were made simultaneously from the front and rear of the building, as firefighters used hand lines to extinguish the fire. A firefighter climbed a ground ladder to the apartment the acting officer had been searching and found him in the living room. Paramedics performed advanced life support immediately and during transport to the hospital, and doctors made additional efforts at the emergency department for 45 minutes before he was pronounced dead. The cause of death was listed as thermal injuries. sarily the result of vehicular crashes. Five of the deaths were due to sudden cardiac events, four occurred in collisions or rollovers, and one firefighter slipped on ice while responding to an emergency and fell, striking his head. All 10 victims were volunteer firefighters. This is the lowest number of deaths while responding to, or returning from, alarms and the smallest share of on-duty deaths reported since the study began in 1977. Six deaths occurred during training activities. Sudden cardiac death claimed four of the six firefighters: one collapsed during an ice rescue exercise, another during his annual fitness test, one while running a live fire training exercise, and another, a recruit, during maze training. Another of the six firefighters suffered a stroke after his annual SCBA qualification drill at the fire station. The sixth fell while climbing a rope after participating in a ropes skills class, striking his head on the pavement. Five firefighters died at non-fire emergencies, including three at the scene of motor vehicle crashes. Two of the three were struck by vehicles and the third suffered sudden cardiac death. A fourth firefighter drowned during a water rescue, and the fifth suffered sudden cardiac death at an EMS call. The remaining 10 firefighters died while involved in a variety of nonemergency-related on-duty activities. Seven of the victims, all of whom succumbed to sudden cardiac death, were engaged in normal administrative or station duties; one fell from a step ladder while removing a sign from a wall; one firefighter was crushed while doing vehicle maintenance; and one collapsed while clearing debris after a storm. Fire ground deaths occurred on six wildland fires, and one occurred at an outside fire involving railroad ties. Twelve of the 22 firefighters who died at structure fires died in residential properties. Fires in one- and two-family dwellings killed eight, and four died in fires in apartment buildings. Of the 10 firefighters who died in nonresidential structures, two were killed in fires in vacant dwellings, two were killed when a coal storage bin exploded, and another was killed at a shed fire. One firefighter died at a fire involving a garage, one died at a church fire, one at a nursing home fire, one at a furniture store fire, and one at an office building fire. Two of the structures in which these firefighters died had automatic suppression systems. One was a singlefamily house in which a sprinkler system protected the living space, but the fire, which involved an outdoor fireplace that had been installed inside the house, spread in the walls and up to the unprotected attic. The ceiling collapsed, killing one firefighter and injuring several others. The other structure was an office building, which had a partial sprinkler system that did not protect the fire floor and had no impact on the fire. None of the other structures had an automatic fire suppression system. Four of the seven victims at wildland fires were overrun by fire. Three of the four died of burns, and the fourth succumbed to smoke inhalation. A fifth firefighter suffered a fatal cardiac event, another died of heat stroke on a very hot day, and the seventh was struck by a fire department vehicle in heavy smoke conditions. Cause and nature of fatal injury or illness Of the 30 fire ground fatalities, 22 occurred at 20 structure fires, seven Half of the deaths that occurred in 2011 resulted from overexertion, stress, or related medical issues. Of the 32 deaths in this category, 31 were classified as sudden cardiac deaths, 76 NFPA JOURNAL JULY/AUGUST 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - July/August 2012

NFPA Journal - July/august 2012
Contents
First Word
Mail Call
In a Flash
Perspectives
Firewatch
Research
Heads Up
Structural Ops
In Compliance
Buzzwords
Outreach
Electrical Safety
Wildfire Watch
Fenway at 100
Crowning Achievement
Safety at Center Stage
Firefighter Fatalities in the United States, 2011
What’s Hot
Looking Back

NFPA Journal - July/August 2012