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San Francisco Fire Department Releases Line-of-Duty Death Safety Investigation Report
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February 15, 2012 The San Francisco Fire Department has released the results of its internal safety investigation related to the line-of-duty deaths of Lieutenant Vincent Perez and fire fighter/paramedic Anthony Valerio at a fire on June 2, 2011.
Fire investigators determined that the fire was accidental, and that the ignition source was a nonspecific electrical sequence, likely caused by either a failure in a ground outlet or in the appliance connected to the outlet.
The results of the safety investigation determined that the two fire fighters, who died as a result of internal and external thermal injuries, were conducting fire operations in a stairwell of the home above the fire room. The stairwell acted as a chimney when a large window failed in an oxygen deprived room that was below them, causing them exposure to a rapid high heat event at temperatures that no fire fighter would have been able to survive.
Inspection of the fire fighters personal protective clothing indicated that they performed according to their specifications. although the department has concerns related to the handheld radios that all fire fighters carry. Both radio microphones appear to have failed from exposure to extreme heat conditions.
Upon receiving the findings related to the radios, Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White has requested that the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) research and develop a standard for fire fighter handheld radios.
The Safety Investigation Team identified three factors that contributed to the tragic outcome of this event, including an excessive live fuel load which contributed to the growth of the fire, the layout of the building with the origin of the fire being in a room below grade, and extreme heat conditions accelerated by the failure of a window on the fire floor.
Chief Hayes-White indicated that this safety investigation was internal and was initiated immediately following the rescue of the two fire fighters. Additionally, she stated that an independent safety investigation had also been conducted by the National Institute of Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH). The NIOSH report is pending.
Twenty-five recommendations have been made as a result of information gathered from the safety investigation and the department is in the process of implementing all recommendations and has initiated research and development where required.
President of San Francisco, CA Local 798 Tom O'Connor says, While there is nothing that we can do to change the outcome of that fateful day, we can learn lessons from this tragedy and make every effort to ensure that this does not happen again.
The fire department has forwarded the report to NIOSH, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Cal-OSHA, the State Fire Marshal and the California Professional Firefighters (CPF) for review.
Full Report: http://www.iaff.org/12News/Media/SafetySF_Investigation_Report.pdf
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