NIOSH Releases Report on FDNY LODDs

Firefighters Robert Beddia and Joseph Graffagnino Jr. and were killed in the Aug. 18 blaze after becoming trapped in the Deutsche Bank tower, which was in the process of being demolished as a result of damage it sustained when the twin towers collapsed.

The building's standpipe system had been disconnected during the deconstruction and the partitions constructed for asbestos abatement prohibited firefighters from getting water to the fire, according to the report.

An hour into the incident, crews were able to supply water by running a hoseline up the side of the high-rise. Soon after the two firefighters began to operate the hoseline, they ran out of air. They both suffered severe smoke inhalation and were transported a hospital in cardiac arrest where they succumbed to their injuries.

By the time the fire was extinguished, 115 firefighters were reported injured.

Contributing factor outlined by NIOSH included:

• Delayed notification of the fire by building construction personnel
• Inoperable standpipe and sprinkler system
• Delay in establishing water supply
• Inaccurate information about standpipe
• Unique building conditions with both asbestos abatement and deconstruction occurring simultaneously
• Extreme fire behavior
• Uncontrolled fire rapidly progressing and extending below the fire floor
• Blocked stairwells preventing firefighter access and egress
• Maze-like interior conditions from partitions and construction debris
• Heavy smoke conditions causing numerous fire fighters to become lost or disoriented
• Failure of fire fighters to always don SCBAs inside structure and to replenish air cylinders
• Communications overwhelmed with numerous Mayday and urgent radio transmissions
• Lack of crew integrity.

NIOSH listed recommendations to minimize the risk of similar occurrences.

Fire departments should:

• Review and follow existing standard operating procedures on high-rise fire fighting to ensure that fire fighters are not operating in hazardous areas without the protection of a charged hoseline.
• Be prepared to use alternative water supplies when a building’s standpipe system is compromised or inoperable.
• Develop and enforce risk management plans, policies, and standard operating guidelines for risk management during complex high-rise operations.
• Ensure that crew integrity is maintained during high-rise fire suppression operations.
• Train fire fighters on actions to take if they become trapped or disoriented inside a burning high-rise structure.
• Ensure that fire fighters diligently wear their self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) when working in environments that are immediately dangerous to life and health (IDLH).
• Train fire fighters in air management techniques to ensure they receive the maximum benefit from their self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA).
• Use exit locators (both visual and audible) or safety ropes to guide lost or disoriented fire fighters to the exit.
• Conduct pre-incident planning inspections of buildings within their jurisdictions to facilitate development of safe fireground strategies and tactics.
• Encourage building owners and occupants to report emergency situations as soon as possible and provide accurate information to the fire department.
• Consider additional fire fighter training using a high-rise fire simulator.

Manufacturers, equipment designers, and researchers should:

• Conduct research into refining existing and developing new technology to track the movement of fire fighters in high-rise structures.
• Continue to develop and refine durable, easy-to-use radio systems to enhance verbal and radio communications in conjunction with properly worn self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA).

Municipalities should:

• Ensure that construction and/or demolition is done in accordance with NFPA 241: Standard for Safeguarding Construction, Alteration, and Demolition Operations.
• Develop a reporting system to inform the fire department of any ongoing, unique building construction activities (such as deconstruction or asbestos abatement) that would adversely affect a fire response.
• Establish a system for property owners to notify the fire department when fire protection/suppression systems are taken out of service.