This is the fourth Near Miss & Close Call Bulletin of 2008. There will be updates as significant safety events occur.
Please do not judge the Employees involved but learn from the events that took place.
The Company Officer on Engine 154 provided the following narrative.
During suppression activities on the structure fire at 4950 Empire Ave. Inc.# 8047446, first arriving companies encountered heavy fire from front to back involving several units near the B-side of the structure. An aggressive interior attack was initiated and was making progress, but interior crews reported that the attic was well involved. E-94 and E-54 were tasked with roof top ventilation upon arrival and were directed to make a trench cut. The structure was a single story apartment building with a pitched roof. The roof consisted of light weight truss construction and composition singles over OSB plywood sheeting.
Initially E-94 was tasked as a single unit to perform the trench cut. As E-54 arrived behind E-94 Capt. 54 radioed the I.C. and indicated that he was in a position to assist E-94 and was directed to proceed with that assignment. E-94 proceeded to place a 28’ ladder on the C-side near the center of the structure while E-54 responded with their chain saw and hand tools.
Once the ladder was placed E-54 proceeded to the roof (with rubbish hook, axe, and saw) and selected an area to make the trench cut between the seat of the fire and the uninvolved area of the structure. E-94 followed up shortly (with axes and a rubbish hook).
E-54 initiated the trench expanding center rafter louver cuts with construction. Once the first two sections had been louvered it became evident that Capt. 54 had misjudged the position of the firewall by approx. 5 feet and was too far into the uninvolved area on the wrong side of the firewall separating the involved from the uninvolved units. The first trench was then abandoned as they repositioned to begin another trench cut further toward the B-side of the structure.
After both sides of the trench had been completed the Sawyer attempted to set the chain brake, but due to fatigue allowed the saw to come in contact with his turnout pants as the chain was still running resulting in his pant leg being sucked into the saw. The sawyer was uninjured but the chain saw penetrated the full thickness of his turnouts before the brake was engaged.
Lessons learned:
Capt. 54 took the initiative to assist with the ventilation assignment because he saw the trench cut as a job requiring a team of at least four personnel operating two saws. However, due to a communication breakdown between Capt. 54 and 94 only one saw made it to the roof. One saw did get the job done but could have been passed on to another firefighter before reaching such a point of fatigue.
If multiple companies are performing a trench cut for rooftop ventilation multiple saws should go to the roof.
If only one saw is available personnel should rotate as Sawyer to complete such a labor intensive assignment.
Closed circuit communication must be maintained and a clear plan established among the involved personnel to ensure that everyone is on the same page and all necessary equipment is cached and brought to the roof.
