Near-Miss Incident Report

Submitted by Assistant Fire Chief Rusty Wilson, Irving, Texas

Department Type: Paid municipal
Date of Incident: July 20, 2013
Time: 1754 PM

Synopsis
One firefighter falls, another is burned.

Weather Conditions
Thunderstorms immediately preceding fire. Hot and humid during incident.

Size Up
First arriving unit reported smoke showing at entrance gate but quickly progressed to fire showing on West end roof from a three-story brick veneer apartment building.

Exposures
Nearest exposure was 80-100 feet north. Exposure was not threatened.

Event Description
First arriving engine company found smoke and fire showing from west end of a three-story/ 24-unit apartment building. The officer instituted a fast attack to try to stop the fire and took command by hand radio. A 1-3/4 inch line was stretched to the 3rd floor landing.

Ceiling was pulled just inside the doorway of the unit of origin. Fire was found overhead and a fire stream was directed into the opening. When the Captain reached in to pull more ceiling, water ran down the gauntlets of his fire coat and hot water soaking them turned to steam and burned his wrists.  Simultaneously, falling debris dislodged his fire-resistant hood and burned his neck area.

Command asked for another line to an adjacent apartment to increase the volume of water. Another crew brought that but was not making any headway.

Command was passed to the arriving Battalion Chief by radio as the initial Company Officer was actively involved in the fire attack. That IC gave the order to perform quick Primary searches and to clear the building as this would become a defensive fire.

After the Primary searches were finished and as crews were exiting the structure, the firefighter on the initial crew was pulling hose downstairs. At the 2nd floor landing, the firefighter appeared to use the wooden railing on the landing to steady him and the railing came loose and fell approximately 15 feet to the ground. Witnesses saw the railing do a complete 360-degree spin and the firefighter fall on it while the railing was in an upright position on the ground. The firefighter landed on the railing striking his lower abdominal area.

Another company officer who was assisting in the Primary search called a Mayday when he witnessed the fall. Three two-firefighter crews rushed to quickly move the injured firefighter from the fire building area due to the radiant heat. The rest of the on-scene personnel continued with fire attack as ordered originally.

Both injured firefighters were transported to the local trauma center. The burned firefighter was treated and released that evening. The firefighter who fell was kept overnight for observation. He was diagnosed with an enlargement of his spleen and swollen intestines. The burned firefighter missed one shift of work while the firefighter who fell missed two and a half shifts of work.

After reviewing statistical data provided by an outside agency, fire investigators determined the cause of the fire to be a direct lightning strike.

Contributing factors:

• Building construction
• Lack of inspections
• Situational awareness

What do you believe is loss potential?

• Life-threatening injury
• Lost time injury

Lessons Learned
There were no malfunctions of equipment. The PPE being dislodged was a result of a partial roof collapse, not user error.

Our firefighting crews did not abandon their positions and continued fire fighting tasks when the Mayday was called. This is crucial to a positive outcome.

We learned in our Post Incident Analysis that our City only inspects Multi-Family buildings upon  request for a Certificate of Occupancy. There are no on-going inspections unless requested by Fire or Police. The railing was found to have been nailed in with 8-penny ring shank nails which did not even penetrate to the wall stud. We discussed having responding crews check railings while on medical and other miscellaneous calls and reporting any deficiencies found to the Multi-Family division of the City Code Enforcement.

We also discussed treating each railing or balcony enclosure as if it does not exist and not relying on it for stability.

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Submit Your Near-Miss Reports
In an effort to maximize the benefits of near-miss reporting, the commission encourages all departments to submit near-miss reports to us. We would like to share these reports with the community, and would be happy to do so anonymously, if you prefer.

We commend the Irving Fire Department for sharing its experience with the Texas fire service community. If you would like to send in your near-miss report, please contact our injury reporting staff. Thank you!

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