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Quadriplegic Smoker Dies in California Fire
SAN DIEGO - San Diego authorities say an explosion and fire at an apartment killed a quadriplegic man who sparked it by smoking while using oxygen.
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The fire was reported Wednesday afternoon in a Pacific Beach apartment. San Diego fire spokesman Maurice Luque (loo-'KAY) says it took about nine minutes to control the fire, which caused $60,000 in damage.
Luque says the man was a chronic smoker and had some use of his hands.
His name was immediately released but a friend and neighbor identifies him as Richard Shirley, who was bedridden after being disabled in a motorcycle accident 10 to 12 years ago.
John Hanson tells the San Diego Union-Tribune that he and a friend tried to douse the burning man with garden hoses but it was too late.
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Information from: The San Diego Union-Tribune, http://www.signonsandiego.com
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Related
- 10News: Fatal PB Apartment Fire Was In 'Brownout' Area
- NBC San Diego: PB House Fire Kills Quadriplegic Man
- SignOnSanDiego: Fatal Pacific Beach fire ignited by cigarette, oxygen
- San Diego 6: Quadriplegic Man Dies in Blaze
The fire was reported Wednesday afternoon in a Pacific Beach apartment. San Diego fire spokesman Maurice Luque (loo-'KAY) says it took about nine minutes to control the fire, which caused $60,000 in damage.
Luque says the man was a chronic smoker and had some use of his hands.
His name was immediately released but a friend and neighbor identifies him as Richard Shirley, who was bedridden after being disabled in a motorcycle accident 10 to 12 years ago.
John Hanson tells the San Diego Union-Tribune that he and a friend tried to douse the burning man with garden hoses but it was too late.
___
Information from: The San Diego Union-Tribune, http://www.signonsandiego.com
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Mike Schlags (Captain Busy) Retd on
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The call about the fire came in at 1:53 p.m. The nearest fire engine available – Engine 21 – was browned out due to budget cuts. Ladder Truck 21, which carries no water or hose, was dispatched from the same station on Grand Avenue and arrived within six minutes of the call. Engine 9, which carries water, was dispatched from Ardath Lane. It arrived a minute and a half later.
With Brown Outs being a reality, it no longer makes sense to have any apparatus types not being equipped with hose and a pump. I don't think it would have made any difference on this fire seeing that it was fed by a medical oxygen unit, which commonly makes use of LOX or liquid oxygen. Once the container failed and the LOX expanded... poof... everything got hot really fast. Hand jacking hose to a hydrant, and having at a minimum a cross lay makes sense to me. We have to do many things with one piece of apparatus. We need to change how we think and do things based unfortunately on fiscal concerns... how sad.
CBz
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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on
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On the other hand, a smoker connectec to a LOX tank wasn't going to be saved no matter what.
I like the quint concept - up to a point - but when you need a vehicle with lots of tools and lots of feet of extra ground ladders, the weight of a pump, water, and hose and the space they take up isn't worth it.
Some trucks and heavy rescues will always be needed, and their worth is diluted (pun intended) by carrying water and a pump.
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