Not too many years ago the Line of Duty death of a Firefighter was considered horribly tragic but somewhat “acceptable” and “routine” – as “part of the job”-but our world has started to change. More and more the role of Chiefs, the Company Officers and Firefighters-but especially those responsible and/or in“command” …are being held responsible.
More and more discussions and changes are being looked at regarding “who” is “in command” and what qualifies them to be in command? The question of“do you know where all of your firefighters are-and what are they doing” at anytime on the fireground is being asked more and more-sometimes by people we’d rather not have ask the questions.
In some areas, the days of firefighters arriving and doing whatever they want to are over. Strict command, control and accountability driven by policy, no nonsense training, dictatorial company officer and command discipline and leadership is becoming the standard.
I was recently talking to a friend, a chief, in another state about how a mutual aid company arrived on his working fire scene and did “whatever they wanted”…I asked him-what did you do? And he replied, nothing-what can I do?…they always do that?! WTF!? It starts with not allowing it and setting the tone through mutual policies, training and discipline so that can never happen.
Recently, the New York State Department of Labor’s Public Employee Safety and Health Bureau issued 14 violations to two fire departments regarding the Dec. 19 line-of-duty death of 19 year old Mount Marion volunteer Firefighter Lt. Jack Rose.
Last year, the same agency also cited Long Island’s Inwood VFD in the Line of Duty death of Firefighter Joe Sanford, where they cited issues related to command, control, communications and accountability that were lacking at that mutual aid fire in the neighboring town of Woodmere.
Two main findings point to several possible contributing factors in Lt. Rose’s death. Rose, who was 19, was using someone else’s SCBA…SCBA he had not been fitted for and not trained to use…the SCBA that he grabbed off the apparatus of a different fire department at the scene of the fire that night. See time line below.
The fire at 11 Fel Qui Road in Saugerties was in the Centerville Fire District and Centerville was in command at the fire. It sent one rig and seven firefighters. Mount Marion responded with 2 rigs and 6 Firefighters, including Rose, under mutual aid.
Rose and the Firefighters with him inside and outside the house failed to stay in contact. The citations are based on a lengthy investigation, including interviews with those at the scene, done by both state investigators and local police. Safety and health officials issued 8 violations to Rose’s Mount Marion Fire Department and 6 violations to the Centerville Fire Department.
Rose had second-degree burns on his nose and his lower forehead. “Lt. Rose may have removed his mask in order to obtain these burns.”
The Centerville investigation report says the burns “are likely from a heated object striking him in the face, such as an open door.” Or, the report said, his face could have struck something as he was being taken from the burning building.
The mask was not the one fitted to Rose. Neither report explains where Rose’s Scott SCBA was that night. Both reports quote another Mount Marion firefighter saying that he and Rose “grabbed two SCBA packs off the Centerville fire truck.” He also commented to police that “firefighters, on occasion, will grab SCBA packs from another department’s fire trucks.”
The air pack from the Centerville truck was a different brand.
The air pack from the Centerville truck was a different brand.
Rose got separated from the other firefigh and due to the presence of thick smoke and high-temperature conditions, it is believed that Lt. Rose became disoriented as to his position relative to the exit door and thus began searching for an exit. Rose, the reports state, did not tell the two firefighters with him on the hose line in the basement that he was leaving. They did not keep track of him either, nor did those outside the basement who were supposed to monitor firefighters inside the house. Both department are required to correct the violations, though the time frame for those actions was not detailed in the reports.
TIME LINE:
Volunteer firefighter Lt. Jack Rose of the Mount Marion Fire Department died Dec. 19 from injuries sustained fighting a fire at 11 Fel Qui Road in the Town of Saugerties. Based on investigative reports, the events unfolded this way, though not all times are exact:
6:58 p.m. — The initial 911 call comes in7:18 p.m. — Rose joined two other firefighters and took a hose into the first floor of the house to put out the flames there. That done, he and a second firefighter discovered additional fire in the basement. Rose and two firefighters grab a hose and re-enter the basement.
7:30-7:38 p.m. — A firefighter notices Rose is missing. He goes outside and asks if Rose has come out. No, he is told. Other firefighters open additional doors and windows, feeding oxygen to the fire and hiking its intensity.
7:38 p.m. — Centerville Fire Department calls a MAYDAY, meaning a firefighter is missing.
7:38-7:47 p.m. — Numerous firefighters search for Rose. Searchers find Rose near the center of the basement. When asked if he is OK, Rose said, “No, get me out.” He is taken outside and life-saving procedures started.
Lt. Rose is later declared dead at Kingston hospital. A medical examiner rules the cause of death as “asphyxia due to inhalation of heated products of combustion.” The official time of death: 9:35 p.m. Dec. 19.