July/Aug. 2004

Texas Fire World

Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire; Where There Are Mistakes, There Are Lawsuits

by Donna Berny

There has been a trend in the number of American Fire Departments being sued recently because of mistakes that could have easily been prevented if officials had followed simple operating procedures. Those who have been around fires a long time have wondered when lawyers would turn toward fire departments and point the finger of blame in their direction.

Fires in which a lot of unnecessary damage was caused because of the way firefighters handled a blaze has cast a dark cloud of negativity around the departments whose purpose is the serve and protect the American public.

The incident at the high rise building in Chicago is a perfect example. Firefighters may have searched the building and fought the fire in such a way that stairways being used for evacuation were filled with smoke and people died. They may not have searched the stairways in a reasonable, timely manner.

Another example is the chemical release in San Antonio where hours passed before officials searched for the victims who died from prolonged exposure to the lethal gas.
Other fire departments are being sued because the sprinkler system in a burning building was shut off to conserve water. When a building is on fire and the sprinkler system is operating, the strategy is to pump into the system to boost the pressure and flow.The standard operating procedure is to lay 2 lines into it and maintain 150 pounds.
Two incidents occurred close to where David White lives where the standard operation for sprinkler systems was not used. One building burned to the ground and the other came close. Pumping into the sprinkler systems “has always been a standard operating procedure since my first day in the fire service,” White said.

In some cases, fire departments are not the only ones held liable. Individual firefighters in an Ohio case are being sued by an insurance company for allegedly causing excessive damage while extinguishing a fire. Officials in this case are being accused of running out of water while fighting the fire and failing to use alternative resources.

Yes, whether they are located in a small town or large city, fire departments may be made up of volunteers in service to the public, but those services must be performed correctly.
Unneeded damage could be prevented, more lives spared, and millions of dollars in legal fees could be saved if officials take the time to prepare and execute proper operating procedures.

“If we don’t do it right according to our own rules, our nationally accepted standards and recommended practices and our standard operating procedures, we may deserve to be sued,” said White.

It is critical that fire departments use correct procedures when fighting a fire or a lot more courthouses will be seen in the future.

.

.

News Briefs

Death of Firefighter Under Investigation

The death of a firefighter is believed by a Massachusetts lawyer to be caused by a faulty fire truck door.

Irwin “Buzz” Gross died three days after falling from the rear door of a reserve truck as it made a right turn out of the station.

The lawyer representing the family, Neil Rossman, said after his inspection of the fire truck, the lever used to open the cabin door did not work properly.

Brookline Interim Fire Chief Peter E. Skerry said they could not be completely sure if the door lever would have been a factor in the accident. “There is no conclusive information at this time that indicates how the door came to be open,” Skerry said.

The Brookline Police and Fire Departments hope to come to a conclusion after conducting their own internal investigations.

* I wonder if he would have been killed or fallen off the truck if he would have had his seatbelt on.

Stolen Fire Truck Found Stripped

A fire truck reported stolen by the Poynor Volunteer Fire Department in April was found stripped of its fenders, hood and emergency equipment in Rusk, Texas in a wooded area near the suspects’ homes.

The fenders and hood of the1977 Chevrolet fire truck were found mounted on a Chevrolet Blazer and the siren and speaker were mounted on another vehicle.

Police said the suspects, Walter Walker, 24 of Oakland, and Patrick Franklin, 24 of Jacksonville remain in the Cherokee County Jail on $15,000 bond.

Widow files wrongful death lawsuit

The widow of a Memphis Tennessee Firefighter has filed a $6.5million wrongful death lawsuit against the store in which the fire occurred, the Memphis Fire Department, and the maker of a self-contained breathing apparatus.

The lawsuit filed by Donna Kirk said her husband’s death was believed to be the result of the store’s inadequate

* - Publisher Comment

staffing and floor plan, the fire department’s ineffective radio communication and rescue plan, and an inaccurate 30-minute rating on an air tank.

Lt. Trent Kirk and Pvt. Charles Zachary, both 39, died in an arson fire after rushing into the burning store to rescue a civilian wrongly believed to be trapped.

Officials said the manager of the store, Anthony Paul Shaw, set the fire to cover up the theft of money from the store safe. He is awaiting trial on charges of arson in which a public safety officer died. If convicted, he will face life in prison or death.

LACFD to Receive Firehawk

The Los Angeles County Fire Department was authorized to buy a third S70A Firehawk, Sikorsky announced at the Heli-Expo.

The firefighting version of the Black Hawk will be in addition to two others delivered in 2001. The first Firehawk was converted on the production line from a military UH-60L Helo, and is in service with the US Army/ Oregon Army National Guard’s 1042nd Medical Company at McNary Field in Salem.

In addition, Congress has funded one UH-60L Firehawk each for the US Army/ National Guard units in California and Florida along with the allocation of three conversion kits.

Train Derailment has Family Members Asking Questions

After a train derailment in San Antonio, Texas led to the release of chlorine gas that killed two nearby residents and the conductor, family members of the victims are asking why it took so long for emergency officials to arrive at the house where two people were trapped.

Wayne Hale, 67 and his wife, Mary, 65, began calling 911 from their home at 6 a.m. and continued for four hours, their son Roy Hale said.

Wayne Hale’s mother, Gene Hale, 85 and her daughter Lois Koerber, 59 lived 100 feet from the railroad tracks and died inside their home.

Chlorine gas exposure was deemed the cause of death for Gene Hale, Koerber and the train conductor Heath Pape, 23. Wayne and Mary Hale remained in critical but stable condition at University Hospital. The wreckage from the train blocked

the only land route and took nearly seven hours for rescue officials to reach the Hale’s property.

Rough terrain and the proximity to the zone where a large amount of chlorine gas was released were factors that slowed rescue efforts. Bexar County Fire Marshal Carl Mixon said the walk to the scene was too far due to a lack of a sufficient supply of air in rescuers’ SCBA masks.

Ohio Fire Dept. Sued by Insurance Company for Unsatisfactory Perfomance

An Ohio-based company insuring house fire victims has filed a lawsuit against the Jefferson Township Fire Department.

The insurance company claimed the fire department and individual firefighters, “failed to perform their services at subject property in a professional manner including, but not limited to, failing to take adequate steps to ensure that damages were minimized, running out of water to extinguish the blaze, and failing to utilize close resources as an alternative to water supply.”

While George Stanton was welding in the garage attached to his home, a spark landed in the seat of his car. By the time firefighters arrived at the scene, the garage was engulfed and the fire had spread to the house.

The insurance company is seeking a minimum of $185,000 from the department and individual firefighters. A Madison County judge dismissed claims against the fire department because the Ohio Revised Code grants immunity from liability to political subdivisions such as a township in civil cases. Individual employees are not immune.

Attorney W. Charles Curley believes the court will find his clients did not act with malice, reckless or wanton neglect.

Curley said the law is clear when it comes to lawsuits against townships and has filed a letter with the court seeking sanctions against the insurance company citing no specific dollar amount. No court date has been set for the suit.

Possible Mistakes by Chicago Fire Department Under Investigation

Mistakes made by the Chicago Fire Department at a downtown high-rise fire could have possibly led to the death of six people a published report said.
continued below...

Features

Informational Videos from SAAMI

Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturer’s Institute (SAAMI) has made videos available that can be useful tools for both municipal and volunteer fire departments.

Sporting Ammunition and the Firefighter- Item #250 Nearly one million rounds of ammunition were subjected to ten different tests - from open burn conditions to tightly confined burn conditions - to examine what happens to sporting ammunitioin exposed to severe impact and fire.
This video is recommended as an educational tool for fire departments and explains how firefighters face no danger from sporting ammunition in a fire when protected by standard turn-out gear.

Smokeless Powder and the Fire Service - Item #251

The video emphasizes safety in the storage and display of smokeless powder in the retail environment and demonstrates that if appropriately packaged, smokeless powder will not explode and is less dangerous during fires than many other common retail materials.

It addresses what the fire hazards are to firefighters or to supplies displayed in a retail store, and what quantity limits municipal fire prevention ordinances should place on the storage and display of smokeless powder in retail stores.

The videos offered by SAAMI are offered at $10 each plus tax, shipping and handling. Mastercard and Visa are both accepted. An order form is available at:
www.saami.org/publications.html. Fax or mail the order form to:

SAAMI

11 Mile Hill Road Newtown, CT 06470

Fax: 203-426-1087

Phone: 203-426-4358

Volunteer Firefighter Struck by Tractor-trailer

A 20 year-old Texas volunteer fire fighter responded to a minor vehicle accident on the shoulder of the outer eastbound lane of an interstate highway at 3 a.m.

After parking his privately owned vehicle (POV) on the inside westbound shoulder behind a POV of the first firefighter on the scene, he crossed the grass median to the eastbound shoulder and was struck by a tractor-trailer. The volunteer firefighter was pronounced dead at the scene.

After investigating the incident , the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has come up with precautions to help minimize the risk for a similar occurrence.

- Develop, implement, and enforce standard operating procedures/ guidelines (SOPs/SOGs) regarding emergency operations for roadway incidents, including procedures for parking on the same side of the roadway as the incident.

- Ensure that personel receive training in the proper procedures and the hazards associated with the emergency operations for highway incidents.

- Ensure that firefighters establish a protected work area on roadways before safely turning their attention to the emergency.

*Some fire departments use an additional fire apparatus at the scene of major accidents to provide a block to protect firefighters at the scene. It would always be preferred to have a vehicle run into a fire truck than plow through an accident scene.

- Ensure firefighters wear suitable high-visibility apparel such as a yellow-green or orange reflecting flagger vests when operating at the emergency scene.

- Consider limiting or restricting the response of members in POVs to interstate highway incidents.

For more information on this case Firefighter struck...
(#F2003-13) or other cases, visit the NIOSH website at:
www.cdc.gov/niosh/firehome.html or call

1-800-35-NIOSH.

A kitchen fire at a Lancaster firehouse had firefighters working to save their own living quarters. Firefighters left the station in a hurry one June 24 to answer a call, leaving a stove unattended.

Causing about $100,000 damage, the fire destroyed the station’s TV and dining room and scorched the radio room. The station will remain open with firefighters using a mobile home for sleeping quarters while repairs are underway.

*Do we install sprinklers in our fire stations?
Grant for EMT Classes A grant opportunity has been made available for ECA that pays a large amount of the

cost of EMT classes. The classes are available through TEEX and give rural departments a chance to add to first responder abilities for much less. Focused on rural first responder organizations, the grant limits tuition paid by the first responder.

For more information, contact Kelli Isaacks by phone at 979-458-4608 or contact by email: Kelli.Isaacks@teexmail.tamu.edu.
NIMS Online Course Becoming better acquainted with the National Incident Management System (NIMS) is now a little easier.

Any organization receiving federal funds is required to use NIMS as their IC system. The Emergency Management Institute has launched a new free nteractive web-based NIMS introduction Independent Study course available through the National Emergency Training Center Virtual Campus. The course teaches ideas and skills such as:

• Key concepts and principles underlying NIMS

• Benefits of ICS as the national incident management model

• When it is appropriate to institute an Area Command

• When it is appropriate to institute a Multiagency Coordination System

• Benefits of using a Joint Information System (JIS) for public information

• Ways in which NIMS affects preparedness

• How NIMS affects how resources are managed

• Advantages of common communication and information management systems

• How NIMS influences technology and technology systems

• The purpose of the NIMS Integration Center

The NIMS course is called IS700 National Incident Management System (NIMS), An Introduction, and can be found at:
http://training.fema.gov/emiweb/is/is700.asp

.