- Author
- Shults, R. A. | Noonan, G. P. | Turner, N.
- Title
- Health Hazard Evaluation Report No. HETA-90-395-2121, International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), Sedgwick County, Kansas.
- Coporate
- National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, OH
- Report
- HETA-90-395-2121, June 1991, 21 p.
- Keywords
- health hazards | fire fighters | heat stress | mortality | fire protection | rehabilitation
- Identifiers
- heat stroke
- Abstract
- On September 20, 1990, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) received a request for a Health Hazard Evaluation from the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) to assess the health and safety practices during a brush fire on September 6, 1990, in Sedgwick County, Kansas. A 25-year-old firefighter died of heat stroke at the scene. During November 13-15, 1990, NIOSH conducted a site visit to Sedgwick County Fire Department in Wichita, Kansas. The visit included a tour of the fire scene, personal interviews with 25 firefighters and support personnel, and review of incident reports, incident command procedures, and other documents. Upon arriving at the fire scene on September 6, 1990, the firefighter and the captain advanced separate booster lines and fought the brush fire for approximately one hour. Then, the firefighter rested at the engine alone while the captain of the two-man engine company reported to command. Upon arriving at the command station, the captain reported that the firefighter was in need of rehabilitation; then the captain entered rehabilitation. Over the next few hours several individuals mistakenly identified other firefighters as the downed firefighter and asured his captain that he had rested and was then reassigned. The firefighter's body was discovered during cleanup operations.