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Fire Chief Suffers Sudden Cardiac Death After Strenuous Training Drill – New York
I was doing some research on firefighter fatalities as they relate to training. I came across this situation in New York where the chief was the victim.
Here is the summary from the report:
On April 4, 2006, a 57-year-old male volunteer Fire Chief participated in a smoke drill. The Chief assisted with setting up the training site by loading, unloading, and setting up empty 55-gallon drums, bales of hay, and hose lines. After the drill, the Chief assisted with cleanup activities that included rolling and loading the hose lines. At about 2300 hours, the Chief went home. At some point after taking out his trash and taking a shower, the Chief suffered an unwitnessed collapse. A family member found him early the next morning (April 5th), obviously deceased. Although 9-1-1 was called and an ambulance responded, resuscitation measures were not performed due to the Chief’s prolonged deceased status. The Coroner was notified, responded to the scene, and pronounced the Chief dead at 0557 hours. The death certificate (completed by the Coroner) listed “presumed sudden cardiac death” due to “coronary artery disease” as the cause of death. No autopsy was performed. Approximately 9 weeks later, a letter to the funeral director by the Chief’s personal physician, stated “death was from plaque rupture in the coronary circulation leading to coronary thrombosis, myocardial infarction, and fatal arrhythmia.” The NIOSH investigator concluded that the physical stress of moving the barrels and hay, and stretching, rolling, and loading hose lines, coupled with the Chief’s underlying coronary artery disease (CAD), probably triggered his sudden cardiac death.
What drew my attention to this particular incident was the victim was the fire chief of the department. We spend a great deal of time promoting firefighter health and safety, yet here is a situation where the key leadership of the department fell victim. Here is the full NIOSH report:
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/fire/reports/face200736.html
I am sure if this person had it to do over again, the very things listed in this report as causes would be changed. Our lessons here is that while he does not, other chiefs do. Promoting physical fitness is great within the department, but if we are not modeling it as chief officers, why bother? If you are a chief officer of your department, consider what you are doing to secure the safety of your firefighters. If you go down because of a heart attack on a scene what becomes of your incident? The chief officer's role first and foremost is the safety and security of his/her personnel. Are we ensuring such in the ways we maintain ourselves physically so that we can be there or are we setting ourselves up to be a potential victim on the scene? What are your thoughts?
Here is the summary from the report:
On April 4, 2006, a 57-year-old male volunteer Fire Chief participated in a smoke drill. The Chief assisted with setting up the training site by loading, unloading, and setting up empty 55-gallon drums, bales of hay, and hose lines. After the drill, the Chief assisted with cleanup activities that included rolling and loading the hose lines. At about 2300 hours, the Chief went home. At some point after taking out his trash and taking a shower, the Chief suffered an unwitnessed collapse. A family member found him early the next morning (April 5th), obviously deceased. Although 9-1-1 was called and an ambulance responded, resuscitation measures were not performed due to the Chief’s prolonged deceased status. The Coroner was notified, responded to the scene, and pronounced the Chief dead at 0557 hours. The death certificate (completed by the Coroner) listed “presumed sudden cardiac death” due to “coronary artery disease” as the cause of death. No autopsy was performed. Approximately 9 weeks later, a letter to the funeral director by the Chief’s personal physician, stated “death was from plaque rupture in the coronary circulation leading to coronary thrombosis, myocardial infarction, and fatal arrhythmia.” The NIOSH investigator concluded that the physical stress of moving the barrels and hay, and stretching, rolling, and loading hose lines, coupled with the Chief’s underlying coronary artery disease (CAD), probably triggered his sudden cardiac death.
What drew my attention to this particular incident was the victim was the fire chief of the department. We spend a great deal of time promoting firefighter health and safety, yet here is a situation where the key leadership of the department fell victim. Here is the full NIOSH report:
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/fire/reports/face200736.html
I am sure if this person had it to do over again, the very things listed in this report as causes would be changed. Our lessons here is that while he does not, other chiefs do. Promoting physical fitness is great within the department, but if we are not modeling it as chief officers, why bother? If you are a chief officer of your department, consider what you are doing to secure the safety of your firefighters. If you go down because of a heart attack on a scene what becomes of your incident? The chief officer's role first and foremost is the safety and security of his/her personnel. Are we ensuring such in the ways we maintain ourselves physically so that we can be there or are we setting ourselves up to be a potential victim on the scene? What are your thoughts?
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