NFPA Journal - July/August 2017 - 82

Selected 2016 U.S. Firefighter Fatalities (continued)
assigned the monthly duty of
inspecting the fire extinguishers throughout the plant. The
fire technician had six months
of experience with the fire
brigade, 11 years with a local
fire department, and had been
appointed to a position as a
part-time police officer.
At 4 p.m., a plant security
team found the technician
deceased in a fifth-floor elevator motor room, an area
not considered dangerous.

the number of firefighters who died in
vehicle crashes in 2016
They exited the room before
becoming asphyxiated
from a nitrogen-enriched
atmosphere that created an
immediately dangerous to life
or health (IDLH) environment.
They returned after donning
self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) and removed the
fire technician from the room.
An investigation later found
that a leak in the nitrogen distribution system had filled the
elevator motor room with nitrogen, displacing the oxygen and
creating the IDLH atmosphere.
Nitrogen is an odorless, colorless, tasteless, mostly inert
diatomic gas, but it can also be
deadly. It can act as an asphyxiant and kill an individual in less
than 40 seconds. It was used
at this plant in the steel refining process to open and close
valves for pneumatic equipment and to cool equipment.
The investigation also determined that the fire technician
entered the IDLH environment
unknowingly. He collapsed and
died after briefly breathing the
nitrogen-enriched atmosphere.
Company employees and firefighters who responded took
readings in the room where
the technician was found and
detected oxygen levels below
4 percent; suffocation can
occur at just under a 19 percent
oxygen level. The company discontinued the use of nitrogen
as a result of the fatality. The
cause of death was asphyxiation by nitrogen.
Applicable standards:
NFPA 1072, Hazardous
Materials/Weapons of Mass
Destruction Emergency
Response Personnel Professional Qualifications, 2017
edition, Chapter 4;
NFPA 1081, Industrial Fire
Brigade Member Professional

Qualifications, 2012 edition;
NFPA 472, Competence of
Responders to Hazardous
Materials/Weapons of Mass
Destruction Incidents, 2013
edition, Chapter 4.
RUN OVER BY APPARATUS
On March 20 at 3:30 p.m., a
neighbor called 911 two minutes after detecting a fire in a
single-family dwelling. The onestory building of wood-frame
construction had a groundfloor area of 600 square feet
(56 square meters). A large
amount of fire was showing on
the arrival of the first fire company. The cause of the fire was
deemed unintentional but was
classified as undetermined.
A 42-year-old firefighter with
six years of service, dressed in
a personal protective ensemble
(PPE) with the exception of an
SCBA, either attempted to jump
onto the back step of the engine
or fell from the engine as the
apparatus was backing up to a
hydrant, and became tangled
in the hose. The driver of the
engine, not seeing the firefighter fall, continued to back
up, driving over him and causing
fatal crushing injuries. He was
pronounced dead at the scene.
Applicable standards:
NFPA 1002, Fire Apparatus
Driver/Operator Professional
Qualifications, 2017 edition, Section 4.3; NFPA 1001, Fire Fighter
Professional Qualifications, 2013
edition, Section 5.3.2.
SUDDEN CARDIAC DEATH
DURING OVERHAUL
On April 16 at 11:30 p.m., a 911
call sent the fire department
to a single-family dwelling fire.
The building covered 1,500
square feet (144 square meters)
of ground-floor area. Firefighters encountered a large
amount of fire in the structure
on arrival. After a short time,
the fire was knocked down and
under control.
A 57-year-old fire lieutenant
with 30 years of service,
dressed in protective clothing
but without his SCBA, entered
the building with his company
and began overhauling. A short
time later, he collapsed. He
was carried outside and CPR
was immediately performed
by on-scene personnel. He
was transported to the hospital where he died. The cause
of death was determined as
sudden cardiac arrest stemming
from cardiovascular disease.
The cause of the fire was a
malfunctioning electrical fan in
a first-floor bedroom. Two adults
and four children escaped
even though the house was not
equipped with smoke alarms.

82 | NFPA JOURNAL * J U L Y /A U G U S T 2 0 1 7

as it backed into the station after a community
event. One firefighter fell from a ladder during
maintenance work at the station. And a member
of an industrial fire department was asphyxiated
while inspecting fire extinguishers in a room that
had become oxygen-depleted.

Fire ground deaths
The 15 fire ground deaths is the lowest total since
this study was first done in 1977, and is the third
consecutive year that the total has been below 25.
Seven of the 15 deaths occurred at five structure
fires: four of the structures were single-family
dwellings and one was a sporting goods store.
None of the structures in which firefighters died
was reported to have had an automatic fire suppression system.
Among the non-structure fire deaths, six firefighters died at wildland fire incidents: three were
struck by falling objects (one by a tree, one by
a tree limb, and one by a boulder), two suffered
sudden cardiac events, and one was killed when
his bulldozer overturned on a slope. Two firefighters died at the scene of motor vehicle fires, both
suffering sudden cardiac events.

Cause and nature of fatal injury or illness
Overexertion, stress, and medical issues accounted
for by far the largest share of deaths. Of the 29
deaths in this category, 26 were classified as
sudden cardiac deaths (usually heart attacks) and
one to a stroke. The two suicide deaths (one by
gunshot and the other by hanging) also fall into
this category.
The second leading cause of fatal injury was
vehicle crashes, which claimed 17 lives. Two other
firefighters were struck and killed by vehicles.
These incidents are discussed in more detail below.
Seven firefighters died in fatal falls: two during
training, with one falling from a helicopter during
rescue hoist training and one from a personal
watercraft during water rescue training; one from
a ladder while doing maintenance work at the
station; one while attempting to jump onto the
back step of a pumper that was backing up to a
hydrant at a structure fire and was run over; one
who fell at home while responding to a call; one
who was on foot in a parking lot while returning
from a wildland fire assignment when he fell over
a guardrail; and one mentioned above who died
after slipping and falling on ice.
Four firefighters were struck and killed by falling objects: two on wildland fires were struck by
falling trees, one on a wildland fire by a falling
boulder, and one at a structure fire when the
upper story exploded and he was struck by parts
of the roof.
Structural collapse resulted in three deaths
in one incident. The firefighters were killed in a
row house fire that had been set in the basement.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - July/August 2017