Thursday, July 29, 2010 The State/Regional investigation into the May 22 fire that led to the Line of duty death of Firefighter John Glaser has been completed. FF Glaser accidentally died while searching a resident reported to be inside a burning house. The SFD today released a report done by the Eastern Kansas Multi-County Fire Investigation Task Force, which investigated the origin and cause, as well as investigating the LODD. The report determined both the fire’s cause and Glaser’s death to be accidental but unusual in the circumstances.


FF Glaser died from toxic gases and a lack of oxygen, resulting in his death. Firefighters arrived about 2058 Hours on May 22 to find fire coming from a rear garage from the dwelling's basement. They were told the occupants and pets were in the house. When FF's went in the front door, FF Glaser was in the front of the search line. The search crew took a dry hose line and moved down the hallway on the main level, locating a dog in a utility room and bringing it outside.

They then re-entered the home, following the hose to continue their search. At some point, FF Glaser became separated from his search partner, who then heard him ask for help. A mayday call went out, and Firefighters soon located FF Glaser in the master bathroom, which is located just above the entrance to the basement garage.

FF Glaser had vomited in his face piece, causing him to try to fix the issue. He removed his gloves, helmet and face mask, trying to clear the vomit from the nose cup. While doing that, FF Glaser tragically but understandably became disoriented and overcome by the smoke and gases before he could get his mask back in place, and he collapsed due to the levels of toxin filled smoke and gas, rapidly entering in his system. FF Glaser was located, removed and EMS began resuscitation efforts, but he was pronounced dead at the hospital.

FF Glaser’s SCBA appeared to be in working order and still had two-thirds of its air remaining, though the report noted that the system and air is being sent for further testing.

The cause of Glaser’s illness was attributed to a number of factors. His crew had responded to Overland Park earlier in the day and had 3 calls there before returning to their quarters in Shawnee. The crew also had several calls in Shawnee that day, including a drowning, and FF Glaser may have been additionally fatigued from the exertion of the search crew’s first entry into the burning home.

FF Glaser also had eaten 2 big meals during the day, a BBQ lunch in Overland Park, and then a meal of burgers and hot dogs around 1700 hours at Shawnee firehouse 71. The autopsy showed FF Glaser still had a large amount of food in his stomach. According to the SFD, an upcoming report from the NIOSH may have additional including suggestions for operational changes.
R.I.P. FF Glaser.