NIOSH investigators say a number of factors led to the death of a Pennsylvania firefighter last year while battling a house fire.
On March 5, Lt. Nicholas V. Picozzi II, of the Lower Chichester Volunteer Fire Dept., became separated from his crew when they exited a basement.
The firefighter who was working with Picozzi thought he was behind him as he went up the stairs, but he wasn't.
His body was eventually found in the basement in several inches of water.
Firefighters had originally been evacuated due to conditions, but later allowed to re-enter the house.
NIOSH officials noted that the victim's hood was in his turnout coat pocket, and he was not wearing gloves.
Investigators learned that not all firefighters had a radio, and that static prevented some from hearing transmissions.
Among the factors that led to the fatal outcome included the lack of SOPs; lack of firefighter continuity and lack of a backup hose. They also questioned incident command and risk management.
Following their probe, officials made the following recommendations:
- Review, revise as necessary, and enforce standard operating guidelines (SOGs) to include specific procedures for basement fires and two-in/ two-out procedures
- Ensure that team continuity is maintained with two or more fire fighters per team
- Ensure that the Incident Commander continuously evaluates the risks versus gain when determining whether the fire suppression operation will be offensive or defensive
- Enforce standard operating guidelines (SOGs) regarding thermal imaging camera (TIC) use during interior operations
- Ensure that a separate Incident Safety Officer, independent from the Incident Commander, is appointed and utilized when incidents escalate in size and complexity
- Ensure that a backup hose line is pulled and in place prior to entry into fire-involved structures
- Ensure that all fire fighters have portable radios and they are operable in the fireground environment
- Ensure that fire fighters are trained on initiating Mayday radio transmissions immediately when they are in distress, and/or become lost or trapped
