NIOSH occupational safety and health report

NIOSH Report

When death and disaster occurs in any context, it is customary to investigate the circumstances surrounding the event with a dual purpose. First, the purpose is to determine the circumstances and events that led to the disaster. These would include technical or structural faults as well as possible human error that might have been prevented. Second, the investigation is meant to reveal possible future actions to prevent future occurrences of a similar nature. As human beings, one important thing about our experience at home and work is to learn from the past in order to create a better future. The fire department is no exception to this. Indeed, because of the nature of the work, learning from historical events can mean the difference between life and death, making this an especially important focus in the profession. In the reported situation from California, then, one important consideration focuses not only on the events leading to the death of the two fire fighting professionals, but also on how such deaths can be prevented in the future. At the center of this learning experience is how training can be used to avoid such fatalities in the future by means of considering the current training level of the officers who died, the reasons for their deaths, and what can be done in terms of training to prevent similar events in the future.

The first interesting thing about the victims is the level of their experience. Both men had years of experience with a significant amount of hours in training. The first victim, and engineer, had more than 8 years of experience with more than 397 hours in basic Fire Fighter Level I training. He was riding the fire fighter position for the shift on overtime, which means he might have been suffering some level of fatigue, and may have not been functioning at an optimal level of physical and mental agility. The second victim was a captain and had more than 10 years of experience, along with more than 480 hours in basic Fire Fighter Level I training. The main question one might therefore ask is whether their combined experience and training were not sufficient to prevent their deaths. Both men had Fire Fighter Level I training and years of experience. When investigating the circumstances leading to their deaths, several recommendations were made, one of which focused on training.

In addition to improving interdepartmental and interagency communication, training recommendations included more comprehensive fire fighter training requirements regarding fire behavior. Indeed, the fire fighters entered a dangerous situation without apparently understanding the behavior of fire under ventilation conditions in sufficient depth to ensure their own safety.

Another important condition for effective fire fighting measures is to ensure that sufficient numbers of personnel are available. Indeed, Sheridan (2011) asserts that each rank within the fire fighting crew should have its own responsibilities and focus. To ensure the safety and sufficient support for all crew members involved, these roles should be strictly adhered to. This would not only require sufficient personnel numbers, but also sufficient interpersonal and interdepartmental training to ensure that all personnel understand and adhere to their roles, especially in dangerous situations. Such support was lacking in the incidents involve.