Fire fighter dies at a single-family dwelling fire - Iowa.
Authors
Sexson K; Baldwin TN
Source
Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, FACE F2000-14, 2000 Oct; :1-9
On February 6, 2000, a 42-year-old male Fire Fighter responded to a fire in a single-family dwelling. After ascending a 14-foot roof ladder, removing a 2-foot square section of wooden tongue-and-groove siding, further ascending up the same ladder to the roof in anticipation of performing roof ventilation, then descending to the ground, the victim had a witnessed collapse. Despite cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and advanced cardiac life support (ACES) administered on the scene and at the hospital, the victim died. The death certificate, completed by the County Coroner, listed "occlusive coronary artery disease" as the immediate cause of death due to "atherosclerotic vascular disease." Pertinent autopsy results included severe coronary artery disease, acute agonal pulmonary congestion, and pulmonary anthracosis without emphysema. Other agencies have proposed a three-pronged strategy for reducing the risk of on-duty heart attacks and cardiac arrests among fire fighters. This strategy consists of (1) minimizing physical stress on fire fighters, (2) screening to identify and subsequently rehabilitate high risk individuals, and (3) encouraging increased individual physical capacity. The following issues are relevant to this Fire Department: 1. Fire Fighters should have annual medical evaluations to determine their medical ability to perform duties without presenting a significant risk to the safety and health of themselves or others; 2. Exercise stress tests should be incorporated into the Fire Department's medical evaluation program; 3. Reduce risk factors for cardiovascular disease and improve cardiovascular capacity by offering a wellness/fitness program for fire fighters. Phase in a mandatory wellness/fitness program for fire fighters to reduce risk factors for cardiovascular disease and improve cardiovascular capacity; 4. Self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBAs) should be upgraded with regard to the weight of the SCBAs and air cylinder; 5. As contained in the OSHA Revised Respiratory Protection Standard, provide fire fighters with medical evaluations to determine fitness to wear a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBAs).
Keywords
Region 7; Fire fighters; Fire fighting; Cardiac function; Cardiovascular disease; Cardiovascular system disease; Respiratory function tests; Physical fitness; Medical screening
Publication Date
20001019
Document Type
Field Studies; Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation
Fiscal Year
2001
NTIS Accession No.
PB2003-107699
NTIS Price
A03
Identifying No.
FACE-F2000-14
NIOSH Division
DSHEFS
SIC Code
NAICS-92
Source Name
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Links with this icon indicate that you are leaving the CDC website.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cannot attest to the accuracy of a non-federal website.
Linking to a non-federal website does not constitute an endorsement by CDC or any of its employees of the sponsors or the information and products presented on the website.
You will be subject to the destination website's privacy policy when you follow the link.
CDC is not responsible for Section 508 compliance (accessibility) on other federal or private website.
For more information on CDC's web notification policies, see Website Disclaimers.
CDC.gov Privacy Settings
We take your privacy seriously. You can review and change the way we collect information below.
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.
Cookies used to make website functionality more relevant to you. These cookies perform functions like remembering presentation options or choices and, in some cases, delivery of web content that based on self-identified area of interests.
Cookies used to track the effectiveness of CDC public health campaigns through clickthrough data.
Cookies used to enable you to share pages and content that you find interesting on CDC.gov through third party social networking and other websites. These cookies may also be used for advertising purposes by these third parties.
Thank you for taking the time to confirm your preferences. If you need to go back and make any changes, you can always do so by going to our Privacy Policy page.