HEATHER CASPI
Firehouse.com News
Firefighters packed the room at the Firehouse Expo in Baltimore last
week to hear about the near death of a Los Angeles County firefighter
and the lessons the department learned through his rescue.
The presentation "The Physical Rescue of a Trapped Firefighter"
recounted the story of Capt. Gary Morgan, who fell into the fiery
basement of an old house hidden within a large commercial structure
in Whittier, CA.
"If you think you're going to have one company rescue one of your
colleagues in a text book perfect situation, wake up," said LACoFD
Assistant Chief Michael Bryant.
Presenters Michael Bryant and LACoFD Battalion Chief John Tripp
stressed that one company won't be enough to rescue a firefighter.
They pointed out that it took 12 companies to retrieve Firefighter
Brett Tarver, who died in a Phoenix commercial structure fire last
year, and it took seven companies to rescue Morgan.
"The snatch and grab with one company doesn't work with firefighters
like civilians," Tripp said.
Tripp recalled how the department got a call at 1:30 a.m. for a
one-story commercial building fire at a window showroom. However,
they didn't know the building was wrapped around a two-story historic
Queen Anne style house, being used by the window company for storage
space.
Although it appeared that the rear of the commercial structure was on
fire, it was really the house.
There were also several snags at the incident.
For one, the battalion chief in command wasn't normally on duty with
this crew and didn't have a strong working relationship with them,
Tripp said.
Also, the firefighters should have pulled two and a half inch hose
but reached for inch and three quarters hose out of habit.
And even though a thermal imaging camera showed that the front of the
showroom was cold, this did not prompt communication about what was
actually on fire.
Soon the fire did spread into the warehouse and Morgan was one of the
firefighters inside trying to hold it back, along with orders of "No
heroics."
As Morgan pushed the fire back, he briefly found himself outdoors but
kept pushing, and didn't realize that he was entering a separate
structure when he walked into the house.
As soon as he stepped past the threshold he fell through the old
plywood floor and was left hanging in the hole, with his legs
dangling in the basement and his elbows out on the floor. The plywood
clamped his body so that he couldn't pull himself up.
A young explorer, who shouldn't have been there with Morgan, became
frantic. Another captain nearby saw all the commotion and broadcast
"Firefighter down" at 2 a.m.
Three firefighters and the explorer all struggled to pull Morgan out
of the hole but couldn't do it. Bryant compared the plywood to a
Chinese finger trap.
When firefighters brought in a chain-saw to cut up the floor, the air
filter couldn't handle all the smoke and it choked out.
Morgan's situation became even more desperate as the floor pushed his
SCBA and coat up on his back. His back got seriously burned, and his
SCBA pushed his mask and helmet off his head and they fell down the
hole.
"My first thoughts were 'This is not good,'" Morgan said in a
videotaped interview. "When I was hanging there I truly thought I
would burn to death."
And he almost did.
"He said 'I can't hold on,'" Bryant said. "'I'm burning, I'm on fire.
I've got to let go.'" And with that, Morgan plunged into the hole and
fell 12 feet to the burning basement floor. Fire and smoke poured out
of the hole, and it didn't look good, Bryant said.
Rescuers could only see him by the LED light on his PASS device.
The RIC found another access point to reach him while firefighters
wet him down with a hose line to keep him from burning. Meanwhile,
other firefighters were still pushing the fire back, right on top of
the rescuers.
Morgan went in and out of consciousness while he waited in the basement.
He said he doesn't remember falling but does remember being in the
basement and trying to call for help. He radioed that he was burning,
couldn't breathe and needed to be wet down, but was actually never
heard over all the other radio traffic.
Rescuers pulled Morgan out unconscious, but with a pulse.
Bryant and Tripp said there were many lessons learned from the
incident, including: Clearly articulate tactical objectives and
whether the suppression will be offensive or defensive; identify
what's burning; maintain personnel accountability and RIC
accountability; maintain company unity and unity of command; and
carry on with assignments while a rescue goes on around you.
The presenters also pointed out that that during the incident, a
dispatcher repeated information incorrectly and terminology was
inconsistent. They also lamented that the current fire service
culture is that firefighters often wait until they are desperate
before asking for help, and that it often takes a tragedy before
departments will make safety improvements.
One attendee, First Assistant Chief Walter Olszewski of the Middle
Island Fire Department in Long Island NY, said he came to the
presentation because he's concerned about firefighter safety in his
own department, which just implemented a rapid intervention crew last
month and has already deployed it.
"It seems a little sad it took so long before the fire service
realized we need to put something in place for our own members," he
said.
