CINCINNATI — After a year-long investigation into the death of firefighter Daryl Gordon, city officials released their report on the death, including recommendations for department improvements.
The 353-page report was released Thursday, citing the faulty elevator door as the cause of Gordon’s death, but noted that, “the fireground operations issues that occurred are the most concerning to the Cincinnati Fire Department.”
Gordon was killed fighting a blaze March 26, 2015, when he fell through an open elevator door. There was a warning written on that faulty elevator door, but that information was never radioed to crews. The elevator had been repeatedly cited for failures in previous inspections, reported Cincinnati.com.
“The real problem that resulted in the death of Daryl is the failure of the elevator door,” District Chief Gregory Potter said. “The door should not have opened when the elevator was not on that floor.”
Apart from investigating Gordon’s death, the Cincinnati Fire Department evaluated their operations.
“We identified 44 different things that we want to improve on. The majority of them deal with training,” Potter said.
Several recommendations made in the report include increasing training staff, creating a new division chief rank and improving radio communications.
The report’s “recommendations for improvement” section read: “Fire prevention recommendations include improving public education efforts on cooking safety, smoke detectors, and immediate 911 notification; identifying building hazards; prioritizing building inspections; and increasing fire prevention bureau staffing.
“Training recommendations include increasing training bureau staffing; improving structural firefighting training; creating supervisor and above grade assignment training; updating training facilities, and developing training delivery logistics.
“Operational recommendations include creating a Division Chief rank; increasing the engine company response complement; managing on scene resources; maintaining crew integrity; revising firefighting procedures; and ensuring recognition, communication and mitigation of fireground hazards.
“Communication recommendations include improving radio communication skills and modifying the radio channel template. Equipment recommendations include evaluating and securing appropriate equipment to assist in firefighter and civilian rescue. These recommendations to improve the Cincinnati Fire Department total approximately $2.3 million per year.”
Read the report below.