32-Year-Old Driver Suffers Fatal Heart Attack at Fire Station — North Carolina
Death in the Line of Duty…A summary of a NIOSH fire fighter fatality investigation
F2023-01 Date Released: April 2024
Executive Summary
On May 30, 2022, a 32-year-old male firefighter (Driver) suffered a fatal heart attack during his sleep at the fire station. On May 31, 2022, the father of the Driver drove to the volunteer fire station after multiple text messages to his son went unanswered. The father arrived at the station and met with the captain on duty. Both the captain and father went to the Driver’s room and found him unresponsive laying supine in his bed and showing obvious signs of death. No medical intervention was initiated. The Captain made appropriate notifications to the local emergency medical service (EMS) agency, the Fire Chief (FC) and sheriff’s office.
The medical examiner’s report listed the cause of death as ischemic heart disease with coronary artery thrombus.
The Driver had been a member of the fire department (FD) for 12.5 years. He was state certified in FFI/FFII, Hazardous Materials Operations, Emergency Vehicle Driver, Driver Operator-pumps, and Emergency Medical Care. He was a Driver/Operator (Driver) for the department, operated all FD vehicles and responded to all calls when available. The Driver was awarded the Firefighter of the Year award several times during his tenure with the department.
Key Recommendations
NIOSH investigators offer the following recommendations to reduce the risk of heart attacks and sudden cardiac arrest among firefighters at this and other fire departments across the country.
- Key Recommendation #1: Implement comprehensive pre-placement and annual medical evaluations consistent with NFPA 1582 Standard on Comprehensive Occupational Medical Program for Fire Departments, which includes heart risk calculators to identify early risk of heart disease [NFPA 2022].
- Key Recommendation #2: Implement an annual fitness evaluation consistent with NFPA 1582 Standard on Comprehensive Occupational Medical Program for Fire Departments to ensure personnel are physically fit to perform job expectations at emergencies. The fitness evaluation should include stress EKG to assist in identifying ischemia [NFPA 2022].
- Key Recommendation #3: Implement training on heart attack signs and symptoms, offer periodic refresher training on this issue, and encourage those who experience any of these to seek immediate medical evaluation.
- Key Recommendation #4: Ensure that individuals with Graves’ disease and/or Hashimoto’s thyroiditis receive an appropriate evaluation for these conditions as part of their initial and annual medical evaluations consistent with NFPA 1582 Standard on Comprehensive Occupational Medical Program for Fire Departments [NFPA 2022].