Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! I'm Trapped Inside

by CHIEF BILLY GOLDFEDER www.FirefighterCloseCalls.com
Reprinted with Permission

As you are aware, Technician (Firefighter) Kyle Wilson of the Prince William County (VA) Department of Fire & Rescue was killed in the Line of Duty when he
heroically gave his life at a single family dwelling fire on April 16, 2007. Below are links to all sections of the report including audio, video, fire modeling and related information.

Don't BLOW THIS CHANCE to educate all of your members with this outstanding report provided by Fire Chief Kevin McGee & the Prince William Fire & Rescue Department... the audio, the video, the modeling ...all of it can make a significant difference to any and all Firefighters.

For example, within the audio, you will hear the chilling radio transmissions of Firefighter Wilson advising that he was trapped, with his words:
“Mayday, Mayday, Mayday, Tower 512 bucket, I’m trapped inside, I don’t know where I am, I’m somewhere in the stairwell, I need someone to come get me out!!”
By the time firefighters were able to get to Firefighter Kyle Wilson it was too late. Prince William County Fire & Rescue is saving future lives by sharing their LODD Investigative report to honor Kyle, in an effort to reduce and prevent firefighter line of duty deaths at the local, region, state, and national levels.
Technician Wilson joined the Prince William County Department of Fire and Rescue on January 23, 2006. Tragically, he died in the line of duty on April 16, 2007 while performing search and rescue operations
at a house fire. On that day, Technician Wilson was part of the firefighter staffing on Tower 512 which responded to the house fire that was dispatched at 0603 hours. The Prince William County area was under a high wind advisory as a nor’eastern storm moved through the area. Sustained winds of 25 mph with gusts up to 48 mph were prevalent in the area at the time of the fire dispatch to Marsh Overlook Drive.
Initial arriving units reported heavy fire on the exterior of two sides of the single family house and crews had every reason to believe that occupants were still inside the house sleeping because of
the early morning hour. A search of the upstairs bedroom commenced for the possible victims.
A rapid and catastrophic change of fire and smoke conditions occurred in the interior of the house within minutes of Tower 512’s crew entering the structure. Technician Wilson became trapped and was
unable to locate an immediate exit out of the hostile environment. Mayday radio transmissions were made by crews and by Technician Kyle Wilson of the life-threatening situation. Valiant, heroic and repeated rescue attempts to locate and remove Technician Wilson were made by the firefighting crews during extreme fire, heat and smoke conditions. Firefighters were forced from the structure as the house began to collapse on them and intense fire, heat and smoke conditions developed.
Technician Wilson succumbed to the fire and the cause of death was reported by the medical examiner to be thermal and inhalation injuries. Virginia Occupational Safety and Health (VOSH) and the National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) performed independent investigations of the Marsh Overlook fire incident. VOSH’s investigation is complete and closed with no citations or corrective orders being issued. NIOSH’s investigation results are still pending.

The major factors in the line of duty death of Technician I Wilson were determined to be:
  • The initial arriving fire suppression force size.
  • The size up of fire development and spread.
  • The impact of high winds on fire development and spread.
  • The large structure size and lightweight construction and materials.
  • The rapid intervention and firefighter rescue efforts.
  • The incident control and management.

The weather conditions and construction features resulted in the rapid and catastrophic progression of fire conditions. The organizational preparation and response to incidents of this nature can and are recommended to be improved with the majority of recommendations focused on staffing, training, procedures, and communications.
The below links will provide you with significant amounts of information so that our own members can listen, read, learn and study how this happened-and what your FD can do so history is not repeated.

PW LODD Report Fact Sheet-
PW LODD Investigative Report-
PW LODD Report Presentation-
PW LODD Report Audio and Video-
LODD Death Report Fire Model-
We, once again have another Fire Department that is stepping up and providing the facts so we can learn...we have no option but to take full advantage of it.
Take care -- BE CAREFUL.

PLEASE DON'T BLOW THIS CHANCE TO EDUCATE ALL YOUR MEMBERS.

BillyG
The Secret List 1-26-08 / 2311 hours

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Comment by Tim on April 17, 2008 at 1:08pm
Chilling. This evokes a lot of emotions. At a minimum, it serves as a reminder to stay ever vigilant.
Comment by Henry on March 13, 2008 at 4:30am
Difficult to listen to the radio traffic. Its hard listening to a call for help. Many leasons to be learned. Thanks for posting the report.
Comment by Henry on March 13, 2008 at 4:30am
Difficult to listen to the radio traffic. Its hard listening to a call for help. Many leasons to be learned. Thanks for posting the report.

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