Autopsy Shows Kansas City, MO, Firefighter Drowned During '24 Training

Nearly a year after a Kansas City firefighter died during what fire department officials at the time called “a training exercise,” Fire Chief Ross Grundyson issued a statement Friday providing previously withheld details surrounding the swimming accident that killed 33-year-old Kyle Brinker.

The explanation comes two days after The Kansas City Star reported for the first time that Brinker had drowned during that exercise at the swimming pool at the Gladstone Community Center last Sept. 17.

The fire department had previously withheld that information, stating only that Brinker died after suffering “a medical emergency during a training exercise.” The department typically discloses the circumstances of a line of duty death when it occurs.

KCFD continued to refuse to disclose the nature of the emergency or what the training exercise entailed even after the City Council approved a $1.1 million workers’ compensation payout last week to settle a claim that Brinker’s wife had filed after his death on the job.

The Star investigated and reported on Wednesday that Brinker had drowned, according to the autopsy report ordered by the Clay County coroner. According to the autopsy, Brinker was pulled from the pool after he was observed suffering cardiac arrest and then being submerged for 30 seconds.

The Star further reported that firefighters at the scene did not have advanced life saving equipment on scene, which might have aided in their resuscitation efforts.

The article also included that three members of the department told a reporter on the promise of anonymity to protect their jobs that the training exercise was not authorized and that there should have been an ambulance on scene stocked with that lifesaving equipment.

In his statement, Grundyson disputed those assertions. He said the swimming exercise was sanctioned by the department and that, because it was considered a “low risk” training, no ambulance was required.

He further clarified that, rather than being a training exercise, Brinker and other firefighters at the Gladstone pool that day were participating in what Grundyson said was their annual swim test. The test is required for members of the department’s rescue division, of which Brinker was a member.

For the first time, he explained the circumstances in detail:

“On this date, KCFD was holding their annual swim test where those testing must complete a 300-meter swim in 10 minutes. Firefighter Kyle Brinker and 3 other firefighters were the only people in the swimming pool during this portion of testing.

“Firefighter Brinker was within 30-meters of completing his test with more than 2 minutes to spare when he appeared to experience a medical emergency and went underwater in the shallow end of the pool, which was around 4’- 41⁄2’ deep. Having noticed a change in Firefighter Brinker, a KCFD Captain and Firefighter/Paramedic assigned as spotters immediately entered the pool as he went below the surface.

“They reached Firefighter Brinker, pulling him to the surface and swiftly removed him from the pool. He was rapidly evaluated and patient care was rendered.”

Grundyson said the rescue division firefighters who tried to resuscitate Brinker “not only met but exceeded” the standards for that care set out by the National Fire Protection Association.

He did not explain why the department has withheld this information until now. KCFD officials have previously said it was the will of Brinker’s family to keep the circumstances of his death quiet.

Neither members of Brinker’s family nor the attorney representing them responded to The Star’s request for comment.

The Gladstone Police Department did not conduct an investigation, nor did the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, whose Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program investigates training accidents on occasion.

It’s unclear whether KCFD did a formal investigation of Brinker’s death. The Star’s requests for information about that review have gone unanswered.

KCFD’s own administrative guidelines say an “after action review” should be conducted after a near miss, serious injury or death of a firefighter during a training exercise.

The Star has submitted a public records request for the report, if one exists.

Grundyson said the rescue division’s swim test requires that division members complete a 300-meter swim in a swimming pool within 10 minutes. The test is conducted by a certified water rescue personnel from the department — “all of which are trained to the technician level,” which he said is, “a more advanced certification than that of an awareness level.”

Spotters are placed at each end of the pool. There were only four people in the pool at the time of the test, he said.

More than 30 rescue personnel were on scene at the start of the test, Grundyson said, and all were highly trained and capable of responding to the emergency.

Brinker was transported to North Kansas City Hospital and pronounced dead about an hour after he extricated from the pool, the autopsy said.