The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has recommended that fire departments develop guidelines on the use of fire escapes following the investigation into a Chicago firefighter's death.
Firefighter Christopher Wheatley, 31, was killed on Aug. 9, 2010 after falling from a fire escape ladder while responding to a call at a four-story mixed-use structure.
Crews arrived at approximately 12:30 a.m. to discover sparks coming from the top of the roof near an external exhaust duct from a street-level restaurant.
Wheatley and three other firefighters were using the fire escape to gain access to the roof. He was carrying a 63-pound hand pump in his right hand while being supported by a firefighter on the fourth-floor landing.
When he was out of reach of the other firefighter, he began to lose grip of the ladder and fell 53 feet to the pavement.
He was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Details from NIOSH Report:
Contributing Factors
* Using a fire escape to access the roof rather than a safer means such as an aerial ladder or interior stairway
* Victim unable to maintain contact with the vertical portion of fire escape due to carrying the hand pump.
Key Recommendations
* Ensure that standard operating guidelines (SOGs)on the use of fire escapes are developed, implemented, and enforced
* Ensure that tactical level accountability is implemented and enforced
* Ensure that companies are rigorously trained in safe procedures for roof operations and climbing ladders of any type
* Ensure that fire fighters are rigorously trained in safe procedures for carrying and/or hoisting equipment when ascending or descending elevations
* Evaluate the fire prevention inspection guidelines and process to ensure that they address high hazard occupancies, such as restaurant, and incorporate operational crew participation.
