NIOSH has determined a number of factors on the fire ground led to the deaths of two West Virginia firefighters earlier this year.
On Feb. 19, Firefighters Johnnie Hammons, 49, and Timothy Nicholas, 26, of the Craigsvile-Beaver-Cottle (CBC) Fire Department, took a line into a mobile home to attack a fire.
They had been informed that no one was in either the nearby camper where the fire started, or the trailer, the report indicated.
When the tanker operator realized the rig was running low on water, he attempted to get the two to evacuate. However, he was unable to reach them on the radio. He also ran to the trailer, and yelled for them to get out.
When found just inside the front door, neither was wearing the face piece on their SCBA. Both had their hoods rolled down around their necks. One was wearing a helmet, the other was not.
Accountability was cited as a concern by investigators.
“In this department each apparatus operator was responsible for the names and head count of personnel riding on that apparatus. During this incident, the IC requested a head count when the operator of E30 sounded the evacuation alarm. Although the number of members who arrived on the engine was known, the identities of arriving members were not known and a call back to the station was needed.
"After determining who was missing, the IC then went looking for the victims on the fireground. A properly initiated and enforced accountability system that is consistently integrated into fireground command and control enhances fire fighter (sic) safety and survival by helping to ensure a more timely and successful identification and rescue of a disoriented or downed fire fighter(sic),” the report stated.
Investigators noted that factors included lack of department rules in donning SCBA, the incident commander involvement in fire ground activity and wind conditions that pushed smoke through the trailer.
