By Mary Jane Dittmar
Environmental Toxicity: The fire investigator perspective, Part 2
A fire investigator from South Carolina had first-hand experience with exposure to toxic chemicals while investigating an 80-year-old hardware store fire. Lt. Doug Ross, IAAI-CFI, a member of the Arson/Bomb Section of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division in Greenville, has raised some significant concerns/questions, most specifically, “Is there a federal agency that concerns itself with setting occupational safety and health standards for the arson and fire investigation fields in our country?”
Ross, who has worked as an arson investigator for 23 of the 29 years he has been with the police department, has been heavily engaged in researching the issue of environmental toxicity as it relates to fire investigators since he and three of his colleagues were exposed to hazardous chemicals in that hardware store fire in September 2001 The exposure, Ross says, “was the beginning of a nightmare for them.” He notes, “So many combustion by-products can kill a firefighter or an investigator either acutely or chronically.”
Ross’ research led him to Mike Donahue, another IAAI-CFI, and a 20-year veteran in the fields of fire/arson investigation, occupational safety and health, and law enforcement.1 In November 2003, Donahue conducted a one-day seminar in Spartanburg, S.C. for Ross and 50 other fire investigators; this issue was discussed in detail.
“The bottom line,” Donahue says, “is there are standards and regulations that apply to fire investigators: they are federal, state, or local Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards.” Donahue explains that it is assumed that because the term “fire investigator” is not specifically mentioned in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), that fire investigators are exempt from compliance. He stresses that this is not necessarily true and that Title 29 CFR 1910 and 1910.26 cover most of what fire investigators do at fire scenes. However, coverage for fire investigators and the enforcement of occupational safety and health standards varies depending on whether the states in which investigators are employed are considered OSHA state-plan states and whether they are considered federal, state, local, or private sector employees. A list of the OSHA state-plan states can be obtained at http://www.osha.gov/oshdir/states.html.
From a health and safety perspective, the incident should be considered and evaluated as a hazardous-materials incident, advises Greg Noll, hazardous material expert and a principal in Hildebrand & Noll Associates in Lancaster, PA. He explains that the Threshold Limit Values (TLVs) and health exposure limits established through OSHA regulations and voluntary consensus standards (e.g., The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists) provide the framework for determining what is safe, unsafe, or dangerous. The subsequent selection of PPE and administrative actions should be based on the risks posed by the incident, he recommends.
Donahue and Noll say lack of enforcement of (and compliance with existing regulations and standards) is the real issue, as well as a lack of appreciation and information about the potential hazards and health effects.. Since South Carolina is an OSHA state-plan state, state occupational safety and health regulations (and programs) are at least as stringent as the federal regulations, they point out. However, Donahue points out: “Most OSHA compliance safety and health officers do not spend a lot of time following fire investigators around since there are no data that show a significant injury, illness, or fatality rate among the general fire investigator population.
Moreover, according to Donahue, occupational safety and health for fire investigators is not a top priority for most groups or organizations representing the interests of fire investigators, other than the International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI).
Donahue says, “There is some real ignorance of the potential short- and long-term health effects from working fire scenes without proper personal protective equipment (PPE).” In “Fire Scene Investigation: A ‘Cause’ for Concern?” (Fire Engineering, June 2004)2 Donahue notes:
“Although many experts in the field readily acknowledge that fire scenes are inherently dangerous, these same experts cannot state with any degree of reasonable certainty the appropriate level of personal protective clothing and equipment investigators should wear at such scenes. Although common sense dictates that wearing some type of basic personal protective clothing and respiratory protection is probably a good idea, the specific types and their effectiveness have yet to be determined.”
This article is an excellent resource for fire investigators (as is Donahue’s book, see footnote 1), covering areas such as the extent and scope of the potential for exposure to hazardous materials and steps that can be taken to protect oneself, including wearing appropriate personal protective clothing and selecting and maintaining respiratory protective equipment.
Another avenue for action is to make organizations, agencies, and legislators aware of the issues and potential hazards and risks so they can incorporate into their standards, regulations, and laws language that includes fire investigators, whether current or former firefighters or members of other public safety and emergency services. This will make it easier for investigators to obtain from employers equipment they need to protect their health, qualify for benefits if incapacitated by illnesses resulting from exposure on the job, and perhaps even provide survivor benefits to their loved ones in case of death attributable to the exposure(s).
Accomplishing some of these objectives would depend on documentation data. Be sure to prepare a carefully documented report on every incident at which you were exposed or thought you could be exposed to hazardous materials. Make the report as detailed as possible. File the report with your employer, and send a copy to the IAAI Occupational Safety Health Committee for its database. Keep in mind that many effects of exposures are cumulative-ill effects might not become evident for years (for many, right after retirement). Therefore, document even known “safe” exposures (the substance was known to be there but it did not affect you at that time).
Additional information can be found at http://www.firescenesafety.com, a Web site dedicated to occupational safety and health-related issues for fire and explosion investigators; the site is moderated by Donahue.
Footnotes
1. Michael L. Donahue, IAAI-CFI, is currently assigned in the Department of Justice. He was a special agent/criminal investigator with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and a police officer with the Rockville (MD) Police Department. He is the author of Safety and Health Guidelines for Fire and Explosion Investigators (first edition), published by fire Protection Publications/International Fire Service Training Association.
2. Donahue, “Fire Scene Investigation: A ‘Cause’ for Concern?” Fire Engineering, June 2004, 87-94; it will be posted on FireEngineering.com as part of the June issue (around September or October).
Do you have a health or safety tip or story to share? Is there an issue you’d like to see covered? Contact maryjd@pennwell.com or call (973) 251-5052.
Mary Jane Dittmar is senior associate editor of Fire Engineering magazine, fireEMS, and FireEngineering.com. Before joining the magazine in 1991, she served as editor of a trade magazine in the health/nutrition market and held various positions in the educational and medical advertising fields. She has a bachelor’s degree in English/journalism and a master’s degree in communication arts.
