FIREFIGHTERB KILLED BY EXTERIOR WALL COLLAPSE DURING STRUCTURE FIRE – PINCKNEYVILLE, ILLINOIS – JUNE 17, 2011

Firefighter Killed by Exterior Wall Collapse during Defensive Operations at Commercial Structure Fire – Pinckneyville, Illinois – June 17, 2011 – NIOSH Firefighter Fatality Report F2011-15

On June 17, 2011, Du Quoin Illinois Probationary Firefighter Corey Shaw received fatal injuries when he was struck by bricks and falling debris during an exterior wall collapse at a commercial structure fire in Pinckneyville, Illinois. Crews worked using defensive operations for about 45 minutes attempting to extinguish the fire in the 96-year-old brick and masonry structure that housed an antique store with living quarters located in a rear addition. Firefighter Shaw and another firefighter were moving a 35-foot aluminum ground ladder away from the Side Delta wall of the structure when the top part of the exterior wall collapsed. No other firefighters were injured in the collapse. The fire originated in the rear of the structure due to undetermined causes. A thunderstorm had passed through the area approximately two hours before the fire was reported and lightning strikes were reported in the immediate area.

The structure involved in this incident was one of three structures that occupied a city block near the center of town. The fire building occupied approximately half of the block on the eastern side. The Type III Ordinary construction structure was believed to have been built in 1915 with multiple additions and renovations extending the structure to the rear (north and west). The original building was a two-story structure approximately 22 feet high with a flat roof and brick exterior walls. The front of the structure faced a city sidewalk that was covered by an overhead awning made of wood and metal. Four large glass showroom windows were located across Side Alpha. The roof and second floor were supported by wooden joists embedded into the Bravo and Delta side walls. A steel beam running from front to back also supported the second-floor joists. A one-story addition had been added in multiple stages using brick and concrete blocks for the exterior walls. The one-story addition also included a flat roof. The structure enclosed approximately 14,600 square feet and measured approximately 50 feet wide by 148 feet deep with a 48-foot by 48-foot addition extending to the west at the rear.

At the time of the fire, the front portion of the structure, (the original section) contained an antique store. The rear addition contained living quarters and storage. The fire is believed to have originated in the rear of the structure due to an undetermined cause. A thunderstorm had passed through the immediate area approximately two hours before the fire was reported. The structure did not contain a sprinkler system or other type of automatic fire suppression. The adjacent structure, formerly a theater, located on Exposure Bravo was not in use at the time of the fire. The exterior walls on both the fire structure and the adjacent theater contained star-shaped anchor plates. Anchor plates were used for structural reinforcement on buildings in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries. These anchor plates were typically made of cast iron and were used as tie plates serving as the washers for tie-rods on brick or other masonry-based buildings. The tie-rod and plate assembly served to brace the masonry wall against lateral bowing.

Pinckneyville is a city in and the county seat of Perry County, Illinois. Located about 60 miles southeast of St. Louis, Missouri, the small community of about five square miles had a 2020 population of 5,066 residents. At the time of the incident the community was protected by the Pinckneyville Fire Department which had a paid Fire Chief and 27 paid-on-call firefighters operating two engines and a utility vehicle from one station. The Fire Chief was also the Chief of the local rural fire protection district that provided service to the rural areas surrounding the city. The fire protection district maintained its own equipment, some of which was housed at the city fire station. Many firefighters were members of both the city fire department and the rural fire protection district. The fire department responded to approximately 40 calls per year, including 5 – 6 working structure fires per year. The fire department was rated as a Class 5 department by ISO.

Firefighter Corey Shaw worked as a paid-on-call firefighter for the City of Du Quoin Fire Department. Du Quoin is located about ten miles southeast of Pinckneyville. The fire department had a paid Fire Chief and six full time career firefighters. The firefighters worked 24 hour shifts with two firefighters working per shift. The fire department also had 15 active members who served as paid-on-call firefighters. The fire department served a population of approximately 11,000 residents in an area of approximately 85 square miles that extended outside the corporate city limits. The fire department operated two engines, one ladder truck and one brush truck from two stations and was rated as a Class 4 department by ISO. The department responded to 227 incidents during 2010 and had responded to 120 calls at the time of this incident. The fire department responded to approximately 15 structure fires per year.

The State of Illinois does not have any mandatory state training requirements for volunteer firefighters or fire officers. It is up to each fire department or authority having jurisdiction to implement training requirements to meet their own needs. The Pinckneyville Fire Department required probationary firefighters to complete the 24-hour Basic Fire Fighter program offered through the Illinois Fire Service Institute (IFSI) at a local community college. Officers were required to have at least five years of experience and have Fire Fighter II certification to hold the rank of lieutenant. The department held monthly training sessions covering various refresher training topics for all members. The Du Quoin Fire Department required that newly selected members obtain IFSI Fire Fighter I training and certification before responding to an emergency incident. The department had an assigned training officer and conducted monthly training sessions covering various refresher training topics for all members.

Area weather conditions on the afternoon of the incident included an air temperature of 70 degrees F and a humidity of 94% with strong north-northwest winds at 12 mph gusting to 17 mph under cloudy skies. Thunderstorms with lightning had moved through the area two hours earlier. Note: Research by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has shown wind speeds on the order of 10 to 20 mph are sufficient to create wind-driven fire conditions in a structure with an uncontrolled flow path (Madrzykowski and Kerber 2009). The wind conditions likely had a significant impact on fire development and the outcome of the incident. A lightning strike was determined to be the most likely cause of the fire.

At approximately 1515 hours on Friday afternoon, June 17, 2011, the Pinckneyville Fire Department was dispatched for a report of a fire in a building behind an antique store located near the courthouse square at the center of town. Paid-on-call members of the department responded to the station or directly to the fire scene. Pinckneyville Engine 43 responded to the scene at approximately 1519 hours with a lieutenant and four firefighters onboard. A light haze of smoke could be seen in the air as the crews left the fire station. The engine was staged in the street near the Alpha/Delta corner in front of the antique store. A large column of smoke rose over the rear of the building and smoke could be seen pushing out of cracks around the windows on Sides Alpha and Delta. No fire was visible to the arriving crews. As the firefighters arrived on scene, it was apparent the fire was located in the antique store and not the building behind the store.

The lieutenant assumed Command and directed firefighters to pull a 1 ¾-inch hoseline to the front door and to establish a water supply to a nearby hydrant. The hoseline was charged using tank water for the initial fire attack. At this point, the front of the store was full of dark brown smoke, but little fire was visible. When the hoseline was put into operation, thick dark smoke was pushed out the front door, further decreasing visibility at the front of the structure and forcing the firefighters to move back from the doorway. The store front windows were vented by knocking out the glass. Command told the engine crew that no one was to enter the structure and that they would use defensive operations from the sidewalk.

After the water supply to Engine 43 was established, two firefighters went down the alley on Side Delta to the rear to assist two firefighters arriving on Engine 45. The Fire Chief was located a few miles out of town when he heard the fire dispatched over the radio and he immediately responded to the station. He stayed in contact with Dispatch and the first arriving crews as they responded to the fire.

Engine 45 had responded at approximately 1521 hours with two firefighters onboard. They were assigned to stage at the Charlie/Delta corner. Additional firefighters arrived on scene via personally owned vehicles (POV) and by walking the short distance from the fire station after getting their turnout gear. Other firefighters arriving on scene came to the rear of the structure to assist with laying a 2 ½-inch supply line to a hydrant located about one block east of the structure.

A 2 ½ inch hoseline was pulled from Engine 43 to the front of the structure and put into operation. Initially, the hoselines were operated from the sidewalk directly in front of the structure. An overhead awning covered the front of the structure. Due to the collapse hazard, the firefighters operating the hoselines under the awning were directed to move back into the street.

Another lieutenant responded to the scene in his POV. He met with the lieutenant in Command at the front of the structure and assumed Command. They discussed the condition of the structure and agreed that nobody should enter the structure. Two firefighters who had just arrived on scene were instructed to raise a ground ladder to the second-floor windows along Side Delta of the structure and to vent the windows. A 35-foot aluminum ground ladder was raised to the first window on Side Delta near the Alpha/Delta corner and the window glass was removed.

The Fire Chief arrived at the scene and, after conferring with the two lieutenants, assumed Command and ordered that defensive operations should continue. Note: Firefighters reported to NIOSH investigators that the fire department had an unwritten policy that any fires in the older commercial structures within the city would be fought defensively. The Fire Chief and the two lieutenants discussed that four mutual aid fire departments had been dispatched including the Du Quoin Fire Department that had the county’s only aerial ladder truck. The Fire Chief also served as the incident safety officer.

One of the 1 ¾-inch hoselines was pulled from Side Alpha to Side Delta and water was directed through several second-story windows. The second window on Side Delta was boarded over so the ladder was moved to the third window to remove the glass. The ground ladder was left standing against the building as water was directed through the window. Firefighters also opened an overhead roll-up garage door located on Side Delta near the Charlie/Delta corner and two 1 ½-inch hoselines to apply water to the large volume of fire that was rolling out the doorway. A third lieutenant arrived in his POV and was assigned to oversee the operations at the rear of the building. After the windows were vented on Sides Alpha and Delta, the fire rapidly intensified and moved toward the front of the structure. The deck gun on Engine 43 was put into operation to apply water onto the roof of the antique store.

Du Quoin Fire Department Aerial Ladder 110 arrived on-scene with a crew of four including the Du Quoin Fire Chief. They received the assignment to set up ladder pipe operations at the Alpha/Delta corner. Two other Du Quoin firefighters drove their POVs to the scene, including Firefighter Corey Shaw. The Du Quoin Fire Chief met with Command on arrival. A large vertical crack was noted on the Side Delta wall near the Alpha/Delta corner and smoke could be seen pushing out through the crack. Both Chiefs concurred that the fire suppression operation was a defensive operation.

The fire continued to grow and self-vented through the roof at the rear of the structure. As the fire intensified, flames could be seen extending several feet above the two-story roof line. The fire impinged upon overhead power lines causing them to fall to the ground in the alley near the Charlie/Delta corner. A utility pole located in the alley near the center of the building caught fire. The intense heat caused vinyl siding on an exposure building across the alley to melt so firefighters turned their attention to protecting the exposure structure using the 1 ¾-inch hoseline in the alley. The lieutenant directing operations at the rear of the structure radioed for the Engine 43 deck gun to help protect the exposure.

Shortly after the Engine 43 deck gun was directed onto the exposure building, the ladder truck’s elevated master stream was put into operation directing water onto the roof of the antique store. The operator reported that there was insufficient water supply from the hydrant to fully operate the master stream.

Officers noticed the ground ladder positioned against the Side Delta wall and remarked that the ladder should be moved away from the burning building. Firefighter Shaw and another firefighter standing nearby overheard the comment and quickly moved to retrieve the ladder. Shaw positioned himself between the ladder and building with his back to the building while the other firefighter stood on the other side of the ladder to brace it. They raised the ladder vertically and Shaw was using the ladder’s rope to lower the ladder’s upper section when the top portion of the exterior wall collapsed outward. Several firefighters working in the immediate area near the Alpha/Delta corner witnessed the collapse. Other firefighters reported that they felt a shaking or vibration and heard the sound of the collapse. Someone yelled that the wall was coming down. Bricks and falling debris struck Firefighter Shaw from behind as the other firefighter grabbed for him and simultaneously spun around and moved across the alley to get clear of the collapse. Witnesses reported that Shaw attempted to run toward the front of the building (parallel to the wall) while the other firefighter moved perpendicularly away from the wall. Shaw was knocked down and partially buried by the falling debris. The other firefighter moving the ladder was not struck.

Several firefighters immediately rushed to aid the injured firefighter. They quickly uncovered and pulled him to the corner of the alley where they immediately began to assess his condition. They were concerned about a secondary collapse of the rest of the wall, so they moved him east along the sidewalk to get out of the collapse zone. After Firefighter Shaw was moved to a safe location, paramedics stabilized the injured firefighter with a cervical collar and worked to control bleeding. Firefighter Shaw was transported to the local hospital emergency room and then transported via air ambulance helicopter to a trauma hospital in Missouri where he was pronounced dead. Firefighter Corey Shaw was the son of the Du Quoin Fire Chief.

The medical examiner listed the manner of death as accidental during a structure fire and collapse. The immediate cause of death was listed as blunt cranio-cerebral injury.

According to the investigating State Fire Marshal, the fire originated in the rear of the structure due to undetermined causes. A thunderstorm had passed through the area approximately two hours before the fire was reported and lightning strikes were reported in the immediate area. The dispatch center received multiple phone calls reporting a fire behind the antique store near the courthouse square.

NIOSH investigators identified the following items as key contributing factors in this incident that ultimately led to this fatality:

• 96-year-old brick masonry structure degraded by fire burning for over 45 minutes.
• Firefighters with limited experience entered collapse zone to move ground ladder.
• Entering collapse zone in close proximity to master stream directed onto roof.
• Limited visibility at side and rear of structure may have obscured signs of pending collapse.
• Limited training on structure collapse hazards.

Firefighter Corey Ray Shaw, age 23, was a probationary member of the Du Quoin Fire Department. Corey worked as a press operator at Continental Tire in Mount Vernon. He was the son of Du Quoin Fire Chief Bob Shaw. He is survived by his wife, Nicole, a daughter, Camryn, age 3, his parents, Robert and Rosalyn Shaw, a sister, Megon Provart, and a large family of relatives and friends.

On Wednesday, June 22, 2011, the funeral service for Firefighter Corey Ray Shaw was held at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Du Quoin. Hundreds of area firefighters lined the street and stood at attention as members of the Du Quoin Fire Department escorted Firefighter Shaw’s casket into the church. After the service ended, the casket of the young fallen firefighter, carried on Du Quoin Engine D47, was escorted to Old Du Quoin Cemetery by a procession of over 115 emergency vehicles for the burial service.

The Corey Shaw Memorial Fund has been set up to provide scholarships for students pursuing studies in fire science and other firefighting training.

Firefighter Corey Ray Shaw has been honored at the Illinois Firefighters Memorial at the State Capitol Complex in Springfield. The memorial features four life-sized figures of firefighters in full gear, a child, a ladder, and hoseline. Each adult figure is about 6 feet, 2 inches tall and represents the firefighters in action. The figures are situated on a stone cairn 14 feet high surrounded by 2,400 red brick pavers engraved with contributor’s names. An annual remembrance ceremony is held to honor those firefighters who made the supreme sacrifice.

The name of Firefighter Corey Ray Shaw has been inscribed on the 2011 plaque displayed at the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial on the campus of the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland.

Commentary:

Master stream operations can accelerate structural degradation and can increase the risk of a building collapse. An old fire service adage applies, “when the ladder pipes go up, the building comes down.”  When multiple master streams are flowing water into a building, the additional weight of the water can rapidly increase the potential for structural collapse. Water weighs 8.33 pounds per gallon. A master stream flowing 1,000 gallons per minute may add more than 8,000 pounds (4 tons) per minute that the structure, already deteriorated by fire, must support.

The building involved in the collapse had visible signs of instability including reinforcing wall plates and cracks in the masonry sidewalls that were pushing smoke during the incident. When structural stability of a fire building is compromised, collapse zones must be established, marked, maintained and enforced to be effective. A collapse zone is defined as an area around and away from a structure in which debris might land if a structure fails. The collapse zone area should be equal to the height of the building plus an additional allowance for debris scatter and at a minimum should be at least 1 ½ times the height of the building. Collapse zones should be physically marked by cones, caution tape and other types of physical barriers and must be monitored by incident safety personnel.

We have attached photos and diagram from the incident. The link to the NIOSH report is here:  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/163507

We have attached the link to a pair of articles by the late Philadelphia Deputy Chief James P. Smith on evaluating building collapse indicators at structure fires:

https://www.firehouse.com/operations-training/article/10544968/building-collapse-indicators

https://www.firehouse.com/operations-training/article/10544905/building-collapse-indicators-continued

Honor the service of Probationary Firefighter Corey Shaw today reviewing the indicators for building collapse at structure fires and by reviewing your department’s procedures for determining, establishing, monitoring and enforcing collapse zones at the scene of a building fire with your crew members today.

Remember Fallen Brothers.

Get Out There And Know Your Local!!!

Early fire attack at Side Alpha (front) of structure. Note the overhead awning.

Hoselines in operation at front of structure prior to the collapse. Photo shows awning at front of the structure and also how smoke conditions changed shortly after storefront windows were taken out for ventilation.

Hoselines in operation at front of structure prior to the collapse. Photo shows awning at front of the structure and also how smoke conditions changed shortly after storefront windows were taken out for ventilation.

Firefighters attack the fire through the open overhead roll-up door located on Side Delta at the Charlie/Delta corner (rear of structure). Note that the flames are impinging on the overhead wires and the wire insulation has started to burn. The utility pole seen in the background later caught on fire. Also note how smoke obscured visibility toward the front of structure.

View of the Alpha/Delta corner showing the star-shaped anchor plates on the Delta side wall.

Photo detail showing star-shaped anchor plates located on the Delta side wall in the area that collapsed, injuring the firefighter.

Ladder can be seen positioned against the Side Delta wall before the collapse occurred. Note how smoke is pushing out through the masonry joint at the Alpha/Delta corner. The smoke obscures a clear view of the exterior wall, possibly hiding cracks and other signs of structural deterioration.

Collapsed portion of Delta side wall can be seen in center of photo.

Defensive operations following the collapse.

After the collapse, the fire spread to the adjacent exposure building.

Arrows mark locations where star-shaped anchor plates were located on the west-side of the theater building that was adjacent to the fire building. The anchor plates appear to have been attached to the ends of the heavy timber roof trusses supporting the roof and also to some of the second-floor joists.

Heavy fire destroys the historic theater on Exposure Bravo.

Ladder pipes in operation on Side Alpha after the collapse. Note the heavy timber roof trusses over the partially collapsed exposure building.

Another view of the collapsed roof of the theater showing the remains of the heavy timber trusses.

Another view of the collapsed roof of the theater showing the remains of one of the reinforcing stars in the rumble.

Firefighter Corey Ray Shaw, age 23, was a probationary member of the Du Quoin Fire Department. Corey worked as a press operator at Continental Tire in Mount Vernon. He was the son of Du Quoin Fire Chief Bob Shaw. He is survived by his wife, Nicole, a daughter, Camryn, age 3, his parents, Robert and Rosalyn Shaw, a sister, Megon Provart, and a large family of relatives and friends.

On Wednesday, June 22, 2011, the funeral service for Firefighter Corey Ray Shaw was held at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Du Quoin. Hundreds of area firefighters lined the street and stood at attention as members of the Du Quoin Fire Department escorted Firefighter Shaw’s casket into the church. After the service ended, the casket of the young fallen firefighter, carried on Du Quoin Engine D47, was escorted to Old Du Quoin Cemetery by a procession of over 115 emergency vehicles for the burial service.

The name of Firefighter Corey Ray Shaw has been inscribed on the 2011 plaque displayed at the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial on the campus of the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland.