By FireRescue1 Staff
PITT TOWNSHIP, Ohio — An Ohio firefighter had a blood alcohol level in excess of the legal limit when the apparatus he was driving overturned several times, fatally injuring him, an investigation has found.
Firefighter Richard L. Kear, 58, was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected from the vehicle on July 7 last year, according to the NIOSH fatality report released Thursday.
Another firefighter riding in the apparatus began administering first aid and Firefighter Kear was airlifted to a medical center where he was later pronounced dead.
Firefighter Kear, of the Pitt Township Volunteer Fire Department, drove the fire truck off the shoulder of the road after he misjudged the clearance to a large farm tractor that was stopped in the oncoming lane.
The report into his death also highlights the prominence of driving hazards that occur on the right side of the apparatus.
“A significant number of fire department apparatus crashes have occurred as a result of the apparatus drifting off the right side of the road surface,” the report says.
“Most crashes that occur when the right side wheels leave the paved surface are as a result of an ‘overcorrection’ by the driver when attempting to bring the right side wheel(s) back onto the paved surface.”
In order to reduce similar safety risks, the NIOSH investigation concluded that fire departments should:
• Enforce standard operating procedures on a “zero-tolerance policy” for alcohol use while engaged in any fire department activity.
• Enforce standard operating procedures that require mandatory use of seat belts in all vehicles.
• Consider additional driver training for firefighters on safe driving and apparatus operations.
• Train apparatus driver/operators in regaining control when the right-side wheels leave the road surface.