NIOSH stresses use of TICs after death of Tenn. firefighter

By FireRescue1 Staff

HAMILTON COUNTY, Tenn. — NIOSH investigators have stressed the use of thermal imaging cameras during the initial size-up and search phases of a fire following the death of a Tenn. firefighter.

Shane Daughetee, 24, a volunteer firefighter in Hamilton County, died when he fell two stories into the basement while tackling a house fire.

The floor was supported by engineered wooden I-beams. In its report into the death, NIOSH said also that fire departments should ensure firefighters are trained to recognize the danger of operating above a fire and identify buildings constructed with trusses or engineered wood I-beams.

It also called on municipalities and local authorities to develop a questionnaire or checklist to obtain building information so that the information is readily available if an incident is reported at the noted address.

The tragedy happened on Jan. 26, shortly after Firefighter Daughetee’s crew had advanced a handline approximately 20 feet into the structure with zero visibility. They requested ventilation and a TIC in an attempt to locate and extinguish the fire.

According to the report, Firefighter Daughetee left the structure to retrieve the TIC. When he returned, the floor was spongy as conditions had worsened, which forced the crew to exit.

Firefighter Daughetee requested the nozzle and proceeded back into the structure within an arm’s distance of one of his crew members who provided back up while he stood in the doorway.

But without warning, the report said, the floor collapsed, sending Firefighter Daughetee into the basement. Crews attempted to rescue him from the fully involved basement, but a subsequent collapse of the main floor meant the attempts had to stop.

Firefighter Daughetee’s death was the Highway 58 Volunteer Fire Department’s first and the third ever in Hamilton County. He was named the department’s Firefighter of the Year just one month before his death.