A series of failures -- from a lack of certified trainers to a lack of a formal safety plan -- contributed to the death of a Miami-Dade fire-rescue recruit at a training facility in 2003, according to a report released Wednesday by the state fire marshal's office.
The report reiterated the findings in a report released last summer by the Miami-Dade safety office.
The recruit, Wayne Mitchell, died Aug. 8, 2003, during a live fire training session at the Resolve Fire & Hazard Response Center, a private training facility at Port Everglades in Broward County.
Mitchell entered a simulator, built to reach temperatures as high as 1,000 degrees, with four other trainees and three supervisors, then was overcome by the heat.
A Miami-Dade fire-rescue spokesman declined to comment on the report because the investigation is still open.
But the county and state reports, along with one pending from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, will supplement that of an external panel, formed by the fire-rescue department, that is investigating the case, Capt. Louie Fernandez said.
The panel, which includes fire chiefs from other agencies and police representatives, will present its findings to Miami-Dade Fire-Rescue Chief Herminio Lorenzo in the early spring.
The state report found that the facility was not certified by the state's Bureau of Fire Standards & Training, and Miami-Dade's training program has a ''boot camp'' mentality that promoted unsafe practices.
The report also found that the exercise -- designed to simulate a blaze in the hull of a ship -- was ``clearly beyond the training level of the trainees, and safety and emergency procedures obviously were not sufficient or not followed.''
The fire marshal's report mandates that Miami-Dade and the Hialeah Fire Department Training Center, which had contracted the facility, comply with national safety laws for live fire exercises.
Stan Hill, the president of Miami-Dade's fire-rescue union, said that he agrees with many of the recommendations presented in the report.
''No one person killed Wayne Mitchell,'' he said. ``But there was a complete breakdown systematically, all over the place.''
Related
- Report Blames Florida Fire Dept. For Last Year's Firefighter Recruit Death
- Report Cites Major Firefighter Training Flaws In Florida Recruit's Death
- Report Lays Blame For Florida Firefighter Recruit's Death
- Sweltering Heat Blamed for Training Death of Florida Fire Recruit
- Cause Of Florida Firefighter Recruit's Death Released
- Florida Fire Chief Takes Action Following Recruit's Death
