The investigation into the incident that nearly killed Tulsa Firefighter James O’Neal has narrowed, with the breathing apparatus he wore at the time of his collapse now at the center of the probe.
Tulsa fire spokesman Stan May said during an exclusive interview Tuesday that some early reports indicating a possible heart attack were apparently incorrect.
"I believe they’ve ruled out a medical condition at this point," he said.
He added, "the other people in the room are saying they heard the hissing sound of the regulator going bad, when it start(ed) dumping all his air."
That said, it’s possible the accident occurred even though the equipment functioned perfectly. "He could have just gotten tangled up in something and pulled his mask away, we don’t know" said May. What ever happened, "he did inhale a lot of smoke and debris when he was in there."
May said investigators were at the scene of the fire Tuesday, going over the building again, taking measurements, and insuring they hadn’t missed anything that would help them determine exactly what happened.
The next step is to disassemble and inspect O’Neal’s breathing apparatus. "They have not torn down the breathing apparatus yet to see if there was a malfunction in it,"
"Somebody from the union, somebody from Safety Services, they may even bring in the manufacturer and they’ll tear it down and look at it so everybody can discuss it as they’re tearing it down."
He did not have a precise time line but said "they’re getting ready to do it."
O’Neal was going to be allowed to leave ICU but will remain hospitalized for "quite a while," May said.
