NFPA Journal - July/August 2012 - (Page 82)

2011 firefighter fatalities the lieutenant went to change the oil on a newly acquired SUV parked outside the rear of the station. He used a 3½-ton (3.175-tonne) portable hydraulic jack to raise the vehicle and positioned himself under it on a creeper to remove the oil drain plug. Before he could start to remove the plug, however, the jack failed and the SUV fell on him. At 12:45 p.m., a firefighter went to speak with the lieutenant and found him under the vehicle. He ran into the station and got the on-duty crew, which tried to raise the vehicle with the hydraulic jack. When that proved unsuccessful, someone retrieved a hydraulic spreader from one of the apparatus and used it to raise the vehicle off the lieutenant. He was pulled from under the vehicle, unconscious, not breathing, and without a pulse, and EMS personnel rushed him to the hospital, where he died two days later. The cause of death was asphyxiation due to compression of the torso. NIOSH investigated this incident and offers recommendations on its website at www.cdc.gov/niosh/fire/reports/ face201119.html?source=govdelivery. Station Duty A 61-year-old fire lieutenant died when he struck his head after falling from a 6-foot (1.8-meter) step ladder while trying to remove a metal sign from the outside wall of the fire station at approximately 12 p.m. He was working alone and was not discovered until a passerby found his body and called 911. EMS personnel and deputy sheriffs were dispatched to the call. EMS personnel arrived first and determined that the lieutenant had died as a result of the fall. An autopsy revealed that the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head. Silo Explosion At 7:58 a.m., the local fire department was notified of smoke rising from a silo containing coal used to feed a coal-fired water heating system in an adjoining structure that supplied the community with hot water. The silo, constructed of pre-cast concrete, measured 17 feet by 10 feet (5 meters by 3 meters) and was 50 feet (15 meters) tall. It could hold 175 tons (159 tonnes) of coal, but contained only 120 tons (109 tonnes) at the time of the incident. Responding firefighters decided to empty the silo to extinguish the fire. They managed to remove 80 tons (73 tonnes) of coal and doused the flames with a mixture of 1,500 gallons (5,678 liters) of Two volunteer firefighters in South Dakota died in an explosion at a coal storage bin. NFPA 1500, Fire Department Occupational Safety and Health Program, requires that operators successfully complete an approved driver training program, possess a valid driver’s license for the class of vehicle, and operate the vehicle in compliance with applicable traffic laws. All vehicle occupants must be seated in approved riding positions and secured with seatbelts before drivers move the apparatus, and drivers must obey all traffic signals and signs and all laws and rules of the road, including coming to a complete stop when encountering red lights, stop signs, stopped school buses with flashing warning lights, blind intersections and other intersection hazards, and unguarded railroad grade crossings. Passengers must be seated and belted securely, and must not release or loosen seatbelts for any reason while the vehicle is in motion. In related efforts, the USFA has formed partnerships with the IAFF, the NVFC, and the IAFC to focus attention on safety while responding in emergency apparatus. Details can be found on www.usfa.dhs.gov/fireservice/research/safety/vehicle.shtm. The focus of vehicle safety programs should not be exclusively on fire department apparatus, since, over the years, personal vehicles have been the vehicles most frequently involved in road crashes. NFPA 1500 requires fire departments to establish specific rules, regulations, and procedures relating to the operation of private vehicles in an emergency mode if any of their members are authorized to respond to incidents or to fire stations in private vehicles. NFPA 1451, Fire Service Vehicle Operations Training Program, also requires training for firefighters who use their own vehicles. Requirements are also in effect for emergency personnel operating on roadways. The 2009 version of the Federal Highway Administration’s Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) requires anyone working on a roadway to wear an ANSI 107-compliant high-visibility vest. An exemption created for firefighters and others engaged on roadways allows them to wear NFPA-compliant retroreflective turnout gear when directly exposed to flames, heat, and hazardous material. NFPA 1500 requires firefighters working on traffic assignments where they are endangered by motor vehicle traffic to wear clothing with fluorescent and retroreflective material and to use fire apparatus in a blocking position to protect them. The 2009 edition of NFPA 1901 requires that ANSI 207-compliant breakaway high-visibility vests be carried on all new fire apparatus, and MUTCD 2009 allows emergency responders to use them in lieu of ANSI 107-compliant apparel. Advice on compliance with the updated federal rules can be 82 NFPA JOURNAL JULY/AUGUST 2012 Photograph: Aberdeen American News http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/fire/reports/face201119.html?source=govdelivery http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/fire/reports/face201119.html?source=govdelivery http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/fireservice/research/safety/vehicle.shtm http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/fireservice/research/safety/vehicle.shtm

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