(image courtesy NIOSH)
ATLANTA–NIOSH has issued a report on a fatal accident last year that killed a volunteer firefighter engaged in a rescue operation. The report analyzes the incident, indentifies contributing factors, and makes several important recommendations to help first responders operate safely when operating at emergency incidents.
The incident occurred on February 1, 2014 during a rescue situation involving injured and deceased workers trapped within the wreckage of a collapsed cell phone tower. The site foreman advised the responding fire fighters that the remaining tower was unstable and the electrical power was still on.
The 28-year-old male died after being struck by a collapsing cell phone tower. The fire fighter was rescuing an injured construction worker who had been hurt during the collapse of a separate cell phone tower located on the same site. He and three other fire fighters were dragging the injured maintenance worker out of the danger zone of the first collapsed tower when a second tower collapsed and struck him as he attempted to run away. He was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. The initial tower collapse occurred during scheduled maintenance to reinforce the tower.
Contributing Factors
- Sequential collapses of two cell phone towers
- Ineffective Incident Command
- Lack of situational awareness
- Lack of training for the specific incident response
- Lack of an Incident Safety Officer.
Key Recommendations
- Fire departments should develop, implement and enforce an occupational safety and health program in accordance with NFPA 1500 Standard for a Fire Department Occupational Safety and Health Program
- Fire departments should ensure that the incident commander conducts an initial size-up and risk assessment of the incident scene before beginning operations, establishes a stationary command post, maintains the role of director of the incident scene and does not become involved in operations
- Fire departments should ensure that fire fighters are trained in situational awareness, personal safety, and accountability
- Fire departments should develop pre-incident plans for deployment to technical rescue incidents and conduct a risk benefit analysis for the deployment
- Fire departments should ensure that a separate Incident Safety Officer, independent from the Incident Commander, is appointed at technical rescue incidents
- Fire departments, especially volunteer departments, should consider limiting their special operations functions to those that they are properly trained and equipped for.
To see the original news story covering the incident, see http://www.fireengineering.com/articles/2014/02/investigation-into-west-virginia-firefighter-s-death-in-cell-tower-collapse.html
To read the full NIOSH report, see http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/fire/pdfs/face201403.pdf
