Arkansas Report
Illinois Report
NIOSH has released two firefighter fatality investigative reports.
One involves a firefighter who fell off a bridge, while the other probe was conducted after a member of a crew fell through a floor into a burning basement.
On Aug. 10, 2007, Lt. Paul D. Baker, 39, responded with the Turtle Creek Fire Department to a collision on an Arkansas overpass.
Baker climbed onto the hood of the vehicle in an attempt to turn off the ignition. However, he slid off and fell over the bridge.
He was found 40 feet below, and was pronounced dead on the scene.
NIOSH investigators suggested to reduce incidents like this, departments should:
- Ensure that a thorough scene size-up is conducted at all roadway incidents and that risks are assessed and managed throughout the incident
- Develop, implement, train on, and enforce standard operating procedures(SOPs) for working near highway bridges and overpasses that include guidance on mitigating fall hazards created by low sidewall height
- Develop, implement, train on, and enforce standard operating procedures regarding emergency operations for motor vehicle crashes that include procedures to address the possibility of distorted situational awareness caused by the glare from incident scene lighting
- Develop, implement, train on, and enforce standard operating procedures for mitigating motor vehicle crash hazards caused by fuel spills
Brian Munz, 24, of Fairbury Fire Dept., apparently recognized the floor underneath him was spongy, and warned others that they needed to get out, according to the report.
The home owner had advised the first crews that no one was inside. He also said he believed the fire had started in the basement.
Munz was part of the mutual aid crew that assigned to look for the fire on the first floor while others were in the basement despite the worsening conditions.
NIOSH investigators said contributing factors included: a crew operating on the floor above a fire that had been burning for more than the 30 minutes that firefighters were on scene, characteristics of the structure that inhibited early efforts to ventilate the structure, and subsequent ventilation efforts that were not coordinated with interior operations.
Crews found that a large couch had collapsed on him when he fell through into the burning basement.
NIOSH investigators suggested the following:
- Ensure that the incident commander (IC) conducts a 360 degree size-up which includes risk-versus-gain analysis prior to committing interior operations and continues risk assessments throughout the operations
- Ensure that standard operating procedures are established for a basement fire
- Ensure that proper ventilation is done to improve interior conditions and is coordinated with the interior attack
- Ensure that interior crews are equipped with a thermal imaging camera
- Ensure that Rapid Intervention Teams are staged and ready
