By David F. Peterson
A recent event that occurred in the upper Midwest had its hilarity surpassed only by its tragedy. A man had just purchased a brand new Lincoln Navigator and the payment plan had been set up to start the next month. The $560.00 a month payment seemed reasonable to the proud new owner. Within a few days of the purchase, the owner and his friend set out for a day of duck hunting at a nearby lake. Since the lake had previously frozen over, the hunters planned to use a stick of dynamite to “open” the lake and provide the unsuspecting mallards a place to land. After they cleared the ice, the hunters would construct their duck blind, hide among the camouflage, and wait for their prey to land. The men would also have their trusty duck retriever, a black Labrador, to fetch their game.
Arriving at the lake, the proud new owner of the SUV drove out onto the frozen water. The men exited the truck and walked out further onto the ice and found the spot where they would clear the lake. At that point they lit the 40-second fuse to the stick of dynamite and threw it out on the ice. As they cleared the area they noticed their retrieving dog was in the process of doing what retrievers do–the dog was going after the stick of dynamite!
Since the dog was approaching the men with the lit stick of dynamite, they quickly thought out their response actions. Deciding their life was in peril, the owner’s friend fired a warning shot into the air to frighten the dog. The strategy worked-only too well. The dog, frightened, ran under the car, left the stick of dynamite there, and ran off. Shortly thereafter, the dynamite detonated, and the remains of the vehicle sunk to the bottom of lake.
The story got worse when the car owner was told that the incident was not covered by his insurance. It seems the underwriter of the insurance would not pay for losses that involved illegal use of explosives. The proud new owner is now enduring his monthly payments without the benefit of having his vehicle.
This true incident points out and reinforces the fact that tragedies rarely occur because of one singular event. Safety experts inform us that nearly all incidents with ominous outcomes occur as the result of a chain of events. If the sequence of occurrences is examined and just one of the events is removed from the sequence, the tragedy can be prevented. The outcome of the above incident may have been avoided if
- The men did not drive the vehicle out onto the ice.
- They did not use a stick of dynamite.
- They did not bring the dog out of the vehicle.
- They did not fire a warning shot and frighten the dog.
- They did not go duck hunting.
David F. Peterson, a 22-year veteran of the fire service, is a lieutenant with the Madison (WI) Fire Department, where he is also the operations and training coordinator for the Regional Level A Haz Mat Response Team. He is the owner of Americhem Safety & Environmental, LLC, a haz-mat training and consulting firm in Janesville, Wisconsin. He is also an IAFF Master Trainer, an adjunct instructor for the National Fire Academy and the Emergency Management Institute, and an FDIC presenter. He is the author of the column Haz Mat: On the Line for Fire Engineering. He is a member of the NFPA Classification and Properties of Hazardous Chemical Data Committee and the founder and past president of the Wisconsin Association of Hazardous Materials Responders, Inc.
