KENT, Wash. (AP) -- A fire dispatcher who was badly injured in a fall during firefighter training four years ago has been awarded $1.8 million by a King County Superior Court jury.
The panel decided on Tuesday that largely for lack of precautions by city and Fire Department instructors, Kevin Locke passed out in hot weather and fell 30 feet from a ladder at the Washington State Fire Academy in North Bend.
Locke, now 43, a former triathlete from Mukilteo, had scrambled up a 55-foot ladder to retrieve a 120-pound mannequin from a tower and was on his way down in a strenuous rescue simulation on June 29, 2000, the last day of his three-month training period.
The fall broke his back and leg and shattered one of his feet. He was placed in a body cast, underwent months of physical therapy and testified he still has not fully recovered.
``The jury took a look at the overall picture of what was going on out at the fire training academy and felt that the instructors and incident commanders could have been more careful,'' said David Wieck, Locke's lawyer.
The city probably will appeal, said Kathryn Harper, a spokeswoman for City Attorney Thomas A. Carr.
``It is an excessive judgment,'' Harper said.
Locke contended that he lost consciousness because of dehydration and fatigue from three days of rigorous training without being allowed adequate water and rest.
The city argued that the fall was an accident, that instructors took reasonable safety measures and that Locke should have removed himself from drills when he first began feeling ill.
In earlier administrative proceedings, the state Department of Labor and Industries fined Fire Department more than $25,000, finding that the agency should have paid more attention to how the hot weather affected recruits.
Wieck said the city made a number of safety changes after the lawsuit was filed, including more consideration for weather, always having a safety officer at live fire training, requiring a safety harness on recruits and firefighters in ladder rescue drills and having rescue teams present for fire training.
``We just hope nothing like this happens again,'' the lawyer said.
