NFPA Journal - July/August 2017 - 83

Responding firefighters were on the first floor
of the dwelling searching for possible trapped
occupants when they fell through the floor into
the basement. Two of those firefighters died of
asphyxiation and a third firefighter involved in
their rescue died weeks later of burn injuries. The
investigation of the incident was not completed
or released at the time this report was written so
only preliminary details are available.
Three firefighters were shot and killed. Two, in
separate incidents, were responding on medical
calls when they were shot by the home occupants
who claimed to mistake them for intruders.
The other victim was a junior firefighter shot
by another firefighter at the station under yet
unknown circumstances.
As mentioned above, there was one fatal alcohol overdose. One firefighter was diving when he
suffered an arterial gas embolism after running
out of air. One firefighter became disoriented and
lost inside a structure when he was attempting to
leave due to low air. And one firefighter entered a
nitrogen-filled workspace to do fire extinguisher
inspections and suffocated.

Sudden cardiac deaths
The 26 sudden cardiac deaths in 2016 with onset
while the victim was on duty is the lowest total
since this study began in 1977. These are cases in
which the onset of symptoms occurred while the
victim was on duty and death occurred immediately or shortly thereafter. Cardiac-related events
accounted for 38 percent of the deaths in 2016,
and 42 percent over the past 10 years. Though it
usually accounts for the largest share of deaths
in any given year, this compares to the earliest
years of the study when an average of 60 firefighters a year suffered sudden cardiac deaths
while on duty.

Vehicle-related deaths
In 2016, 17 firefighters died in vehicle crashes and
two others were struck by vehicles.
Ten of the firefighters who died in crashes were
killed while responding to incidents and one was
killed while returning from an incident. Of the 10,
four were responding to structure fires, three to
wildland fires, two to EMS calls, and one to a flash
flood situation. The firefighter killed while returning from an incident had been at a grass fire. In
one other emergency-related incident, a bulldozer
operator on a wildland fire was crushed when
the vehicle overturned as he was maneuvering
around a blockage on the road and rolled over an
embankment.
The other four crashes, resulting in five deaths,
occurred during training and other non-emergency events. Tire failures resulted in two
crashes that killed three firefighters. A firefighter
test-driving a tanker before a training drill ran off

Applicable standards:
NFPA 1500, Fire Department
Occupational Safety and Health
Program, 2013 edition, Section
8.5; NFPA 1582, Comprehensive
Occupational Medical Program
for Fire Departments, 2013 edition, Chapter 7.
BLUNT FORCE TRAUMA IN
WATERCRAFT TRAINING
On June 14 at 10:45 a.m., two
on-duty firefighters were participating in an unsupervised rescue
watercraft training session. One
firefighter operated a rescue
personal watercraft (PWC); the
other, a 63-year-old firefighter
with 21 years of service, rode
on a personal watercraft sled
attached to the PWC.
The firefighters were
performing their practice
maneuvers approximately 250
yards (228 meters) off shore
during a high surf advisory
when the operator of the PWC
looked back after going over
a wave and saw the other firefighter floating unconscious
in the water. The unconscious
firefighter was wearing an
approved life vest and helmet
at the time. The PWC operator
jumped in the water as did
others in the area, including an
off-duty firefighter, to rescue

the number of sudden
cardiac deaths in 2016
with onset while the
victim was on duty
the unconscious firefighter. The
firefighter was brought to shore
where paramedics treated him
and transported him to the
hospital. The firefighter died
two days later from blunt force
trauma to the head and neck
with cervical vertebrae fractures and a spinal cord injury.
Applicable standards:
NFPA 1006, Technical Rescuer
Professional Qualifications, 2017
edition, Chapter 20;
NFPA 1405, Guide for LandBased Fire Departments That
Respond to Marine Vessel Fires,
2016 edition.
APPARATUS CRASH IN
MAINTENANCE TEST
On July 7, a single-vehicle crash
occurred when a firefighter in
charge of apparatus maintenance was test driving a mobile
water supply apparatus before a
weekly drill/meeting. The victim
was 50 years old and had three
years of service.
It was a clear, dry day. Three
witnesses who observed the

crash reported that there were
no other vehicles on the highway. Speed did not appear to
be a factor. The firefighter was
negotiating a curve when he
went off the right side of the
road and traveled 142 feet (44
meters) before getting back on
the road. He overcorrected his
steering and the tanker flipped
three times, coming to a stop
off the road on the other side of
the highway. The tanker came
to rest on the driver's side. The
firefighter, who was wearing a
shoulder/lap seat belt, remained
in his seat but suffered massive
head trauma and was pronounced dead at the scene.
A check of the firefighter's
cell phone showed he was texting at the time of the crash.
Applicable standards:
NFPA 1002, Fire Apparatus
Driver/Operator Professional
Qualifications, 2017 edition;
NFPA 1451, Fire and Emergency
Service Vehicle Operations
Training Program, 2013 edition;
NFPA 1071, Emergency Vehicle
Technician Professional Qualifications, 2016 edition.
BULLDOZER CRASH DURING
WILDLAND FIREFIGHTING
On July 22 at 8:48 a.m., a passerby observed a wildland fire
burning in a state park and
called 911 to report the fire. The
fire had consumed 23,500 acres
(9,500 hectares) up to July 26 at
7 p.m., when a bulldozer operator came on duty.
The bulldozer operator
had consulted with the operator he relieved and the crew
strike team leader on a way
to create a dozer line around
a blockage at the fork in the
road where an engine company
had established a hose lay for
suppression.
At 11 p.m., after deciding
where to make the dozer line,
the operator drove the bulldozer
toward the area. He first built
a berm to protect the hose lay.
Unable to go around the engine
company, he backed the dozer
toward the edge of the road. The
operator, not seat belted in, continued to back the dozer until it
reached its tipping point. The
dozer rolled over and down an
82 percent slope, ejecting and
pinning the operator. A paramedic who was nearby went to
the operator and pronounced
him dead.
FATAL INJURIES SUFFERED IN
HOUSE EXPLOSION
On September 27 at 6:30 a.m.,
a neighbor called 911 to report
the smell of natural gas coming
from a nearby single-family
dwelling. The building, a twostory structure of ordinary
construction, covered 800
square feet (74 square meters)

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