DENVER — Denver Assistant Fire Chief Dave McGrail was fined 24 hours of pay over a close call incident in 2012 that nearly killed a firefighter.
The fine was issued April 22 after McGrail failed to ensure a written report on the incident was disseminated to department members, CBS Local reported.
Although the incident occurred four years ago, the Denver Fire Department launched an investigation in 2015.
The incident took place May 20, 2012, where McGrail was overseeing a fire scene when firefighter Joseph Duran stepped through a fiberglass light and almost fell 25 feet to the ground. Duran was able to catch himself.
Duran submitted a report following the incident to McGrail, who he assumed would disseminate it across the department as a precautionary warning. It was never sent out. Three years later, Denver firefighter John Whelan stepped through a similar fiberglass skylight and fell to his death.
McGrail said he never received a copy of the report from Duran and told him to submit the report to the Denver Fire Department’s safety and training division.
“Chief McGrail took responsibility for not following up. He said if he had to do it over again, he would have made sure Lieutenant Duran’s document was received and reviewed by the chain of command and by the safety and training division,” said the disciplinary order.
Denver Fire Chief Eric Tade was unaware of the close call or the report until after Whelan’s death in 2015.
“Gaps in communication that diluted the full dissemination of information department wide … there are opportunities going forward to enhance the information exchange when important details from these types of incidents occur and information needs to be disseminated in a more expedient fashion,” the Denver Fire Department said.
In light of Whelan’s death, the National Institute of Safety and Health released a nationwide alert to fire department regarding the danger of translucent roof panels.