By Jamie Thompson
FireRescue1 Editor
JACKSON COUNTY, Ore. — OSHA has cited an Oregon fire district for “serious violations” following a live fire training exercise that injured three firefighters.
Jackson County Fire District No. 3 faces a $5,000 fine for the April 25 incident, which charred the turnouts of the three firefighters. They suffered first and second degree burns to their arms, shoulder and neck.
In a report, the state OSHA compliance officer said he believed the incident could have been prevented. “If the training objectives had been followed, communication with the attack team had been maintained, if the chain of command had been followed during the training exercise, and/or the exercise was halted when hazards were observed by supervision, this accident would not have occurred,” he said.
The district is appealing the citation and penalty, arguing that it had responded vigorously to the incident to ensure the safety of firefighters, according to the Mail Tribune.
The OSHA report outlines how an attack team had gone into the house and extinguished the fire and then returned to repeat the exercise. It said the interior safety officer issued an order to put out the fire due to the rapid build up of heat and smoke.
However, the team did not get the message, and watched for approximately one minute as the fire kept building. The smoke and thermal layer dropped to about two feet above the floor, said the report, and the instructor and safety officer could not see or communicate with two of the firefighters in the room.
“The heat in room one built up to the point that the face shields were melting and the turnouts were beginning to char,” the report said. “The hose man felt the air in his SCBA getting hotter and decided to try to grab the nozzle and put out the fire.
“The movement of tugging on the hose caused the nozzle man to act. He had been waiting for communication from the instructor to put out the fire, as in the first training evolution. After the fire was put out, the team exited the room.”
In the citation, the OSHA compliance officer said:
- Not all of the participants attended the pre-burn briefing. The Attack Team instructor did not attend.
- The methods of communications were not established. Firefighters on the hose attack crew did not hear the Instructor or Interior Safety Officer and were waiting for command to extinguish the fire.
- The training was not halted after hazards were noted ... low thermal layer and supervisors not being able to see the attack team due to smoke, and prolonged 800-900 degree Fahrenheit exposure.
- The Interior Safety Officer did not stop the drill for any reason at any time. The Interior Safety Officer issued a command to extinguish the fire. The command was not followed nor reinforced by the Incident Commander or Exterior Safety Officer.
- The Ignition Officer did not have a charged hose present during fire ignition
- Team members’ PPE/equipment was not maintained and ready during the exercise. The SCBA’s voice amplifier was not turned on for the Interior Safety Officer, and the SCBA voice amplifier had dead batteries for the Attack Team Instructor. The Attack Team Instructor was aware the voice amplifier batteries were dead and continued to participate in the live fire training.
In a letter of corrective action, District 3 Fire Chief Dave Hard outlined various actions that have been taken to correct the violation.
They include:
- Increased emphasis and enforcement of program requirements.
- Enforced use of equipment checklist to document status of communication devices.
- Enhanced training opportunities for Fire Instructors, Ignition Officers and Safety Officers.
- Increased efforts to enhance supervisory education to emphasize responsibilities to staff for safety.
- Enhanced safety evaluations of activities to ensure maximum safety for all drills.