(FYI for those following Firefighter LODD history, Rick D runs an excellent and very comprehensive resource section in FFCC that you will find of value in training, educating probies etc. Check this out:
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All,
Lot’s of buzz politically about data centers for all kinds of reasons. Operationally, regardless of how we personally feel about them, response by Firefighters is inevitable. Here are some documents that might help as you figure this out for your area:
FROM THE IAFF:
So…the first thing to know, according to IAFF experts who were interviewed for this story is you can’t respond to a datacenter fire like a typical structure fire. Instead, the massive buildings have complex floor plans, ultra-secure perimeters, and high-value equipment that reacts poorly to water — all while housing backup power systems that include dangerous lithium-ion batteries.
FROM THE NFPA:
VIDEO PRESENTATION FROM NFPA:
VIDEO PRESENTATION FROM FIRE ENGINEERING:
=FIRE OPERATIONS AT/NEAR DOWNED POWER LINES FOLLOW UP:
The below is a followup to this incident:
CHECK OUT THESE EXCELLENT FOLLOWUP RESOURCES:
THE IAFF Energy Hazard Guide which addresses these events
SOME LINE OF DUTY DEATH CASE STUDIES FOR REVIEW / TRAINING:
VIDEOS:
VIDEO INCIDENT (snorkel)
VIDEO: LINE HITS FIREFIGHTER:
VIDEO: FIREFIGHTER SHOCKED WHILE OPERATING ON ROOF:
FIREFIGHTERS: SHOCKED BY POWERLINE
REPORTS/ARTICLES
In September 1996, Powell Volunteer (WY) Fire Department Assistant Chief Bruce A. Honstain and his teenage son, Joshua, were tragically electrocuted at a car crash site in Powell, Wyoming, when Bruce tried to rescue his son from a vehicle tangled with live down utility lines.
In October of 2019, Columbia Twp Ohio Firefighter Brett Wilson, along with a 24-year-old woman, stopped to assist at the scene of the car crash at around 0255 hours this morning. As Firefighter Wilson and the woman were offering their help at the scene, they came into contact with the downed power lines. FF Wilson and the passenger of the Pontiac were killed. The others were taken to the hospital with serious injuries. Alcohol is suspected to be a factor in the crash.
https://www.
Firefighters Electrocuted Using Ground Ladders on November 24, 1998,
Ethan Quillen (February 22, 2023): The 28-year-old volunteer firefighter with the Paw Paw Fire Department in Michigan was killed after a live power line collapsed and struck him during a severe winter ice storm
Jason McGlone (July 17, 2025): The 51-year-old East Branch Assistant Fire Chief in Hancock, New York, was fatally electrocuted when he exited his fire pumper at a single-vehicle crash scene. A downed low-hanging power line touched the truck, and McGlone was shocked when he simultaneously touched the metal door and the ground.
Firefighter Tony Barker, with 1 year and 5 months of service with the Mountain View FD in Wilkes County, was electrocuted at the scene of a small fire. His death was caused by winds blowing part of a large maple tree across power lines behind a commercial building.
He was bending over as if to look more closely where the fire was coming from beneath a small metal storage building behind the building – when he collapsed – other firefighters were able to pull FF Barker away from the building.
He was bending over as if to look more closely where the fire was coming from beneath a small metal storage building behind the building – when he collapsed – other firefighters were able to pull FF Barker away from the building.
Scranton Fire Department (Pennsylvania, 2008): Captain James L. Robeson was electrocuted when a tower ladder platform contacted a 12,400- to 13,000-volt power line during roof ventilation operations.
On February 13, 2005, Santa Clara County (CA) Fire Department Captain Mark McCormack was electrocuted while working at the scene of a three-alarm residential structure fire in Los Gatos, California. The Captain was checking on one of his crew members when he walked under a tree and came in contact with a 12-kilovolt power line.
Take Care. Be Careful. Pass it On.
BillyG
The Secret List 10/21-2026-1624 Hours
