- Author
- National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
- Title
- Hardware Store Explosion Claims the Lives of Three Career Fire Fighters - New York.
- Coporate
- National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, OH
- Report
- Case Number F3001-23; Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Investigative Report #F2001-23, February 25, 2003, 16 p.
- Keywords
- fire fighters | building fires | fire fatalities | explosions | fire investigations | fire fighting equipment | training | protective equipment | weather effects | death | accelerants | hazardous materials | flammable materials
- Identifiers
- fire in a basement of a hardware store (Astoria), June 17, 2001, Queens, New York; Personal Protective Equipment (PPE); recommendations and discussion
- Abstract
- On June 17, 2001, a 50-year-old male career Fire Fighter (Victim #1), a 46-year-old male career Fire Fighter (Victim #2), and a 40-year-old male career Fire Fighter (Victim #3) died while performing interior suppression and exterior ventilation activities when an explosion occurred in the cellar of a hardware store, causing a structural collapse. Victim #1 and Victim #3 were removed from the debris after the collapse and transported to a local hospital where they were pronounced dead. Victim #2 was recovered from the cellar approximately 4 hours later and was pronounced dead at the scene. NIOSH investigators concluded that, to minimize the risk of similar occurrences, fire departments should: * ensure that pre-incident plans are updated and used on mercantile occupancies, * ensure that fire fighters from the ventilation crew and the attack crew coordinate their efforts, * ensure that fire fighters are trained to know the hazards associated with cellar fires and the precautions that can be taken to reduce serious injury, * Municipalities and building owners should consider requiring and modifying older structures to meet new building codes and standards to improve safety of occupants and fire fighters. * Building owners should consider placing specific building hazard information on an exterior placard, * Building owners should follow guidelines of the local authority having jurisdiction regarding the storage of hazardous/flammable materials and ensure that all existing safeguards are operational.