Managing Fatal Fires
Training Notebook
Death is a condition that firefighters live with on a daily basis. It is a reality that occurs in both career and volunteer firefighting. According to published reports, in 1984, fire-related deaths claimed 5,357 people in the United States. This included 117 firefighters. Each one of these deaths, an average of almost 15 per day, were all managed with varying degrees of success.
Very little has been written on managing fatal fires. While the subject is touched on in many incident command courses, it is rarely analyzed in detail. In this article, 1 will discuss how you can prepare yourself to better handle fatal fire situations.
IMPORTANCE OF PLANNING
The key word is planning. If you prepare for a fatal fire before it occurs, you will be able to manage it more effectively. It is tempting to say that fatal fires always happen somewhere else, that they are usually confined to the “big cities.” However, according to published reports, in 1984, 3,290 people died in oneand two-family dwelling fires in both big cities and small towns across the country. Once you accept the fact that fatal fires can happen in your jurisdiction, it will help you to be better prepared.
Cooperation between agencies
Where do you start? The incident commander (1C) must be ready to take control of the situation immediately. If this does not happen, other agencies, including the local police department, the emergency medical service (EMS), coroners, etc., will quickly step in and take over. The fire service will then be relegated to observer status. By setting up a fatal fire protocol ahead of time and including other interested agencies, the fire department assumes the management role and directs the operation.
The fire service will undoubtedly be pressured, particularly by the police agencies, to relinquish their command. You should recognize the police as a valuable resource that is called on to provide specialized assistance as needed. For example, they can help the fire department with security, crowd control, and crime scene analysis. The curious, including firefighters not immediately needed, family members, the media, and thrill seekers, should be prevented from entering and disturbing the scene. The police can assist you with this and also provide security for the command post (CP), enabling the IC to focus attention on the job at hand.
Controlling the fire must be your top priority, in order to prevent further injuries and damage. Once the fire is contained, keep overhauling to a minimum so as not to disturb what could be crucial evidence.
Escort EMS personnel to the location of the fatality. Depending on the conditions, they may move the body or decide to leave it where it is for the time being. In general, a severely charred body with no pulse, respiration, or movement should be allowed to remain where it was found unless there is fear of structural collapse or other extenuating circumstances. Once it has been determined that lifesaving efforts would be futile, EMS personnel can be returned to service.
Because fire fatalities are classified as unattended deaths, a medical examiner or coroner will normally become involved. His responsibility is to determine the cause of death. Notify the appropriate office quickly, since response times are often considerable, particularly in rural areas.
Since the scene of a fatal fire may, indeed, also be a crime scene (murder, arson, etc.), it is essential to cooperate with police investigation units and arson investigators. The procedures for this cooperation should be incorporated in the protocol.
Any individual given access to the scene should be made to report to the CP for identification, recording, and approval to examine the scene. All such individuals should be escorted by firefighters assigned to this duty.
Pictures and sketches of the scene must be made. Although many courts do not want color photographs submitted, it is a good idea to shoot both color and black and white film, and include both with the fire report. Plan ahead for a photographer to be at the scene. This will ensure that you will have accurate pictures of the incident.
Body removal
Fire service personnel should handle body removal. It is not the best part of a firefighter’s job, but it is part of the job. It should not be relegated to anyone else. Choose experienced personnel for this difficult task. Have sufficient body bags available. Some departments are now using disposable plastic body bags. Disposable gloves also will prove to be valuable. Treat the remains with respect. It is the last thing that firefighters can do for a victim.
Know and record the destination of the remains and the names of the individuals taking responsibility for transporting them.
Documenting the incident
Documentation of a fatal fire operation should include an account of the actions of all the units and individual members first-to-arrive and all additional units involved in search and recovery operations. Your documentation should focus on: the conditions on arrival; ladder company operations, such as forcible entry, ventilation, and search; initial engine company operations, such as water supply, sizes and location of lines stretched; and, ultimately, the discovery of the victim. This information will prove valuable in a post-fire critique and may be drawn upon when you are developing training programs. Also remember that fire records are public documents that can be requested in court. Therefore, they must be concise and accurate.
Determining cause of death
As mentioned before, the medical examiner will determine the physiological cause of death (carbon monoxide poisoning, suffocation, etc.). Public fire education specialists should then investigate the behavioral cause of death. Except in caretaker situations (infants, physically and mentally handicapped, the elderly and infirm, and incarcerated persons), these experts should examine the evidence to determine what the victim did or did not do that resulted in death (e.g., smoking in bed)/ The investigation may disclose that the fire originated in the bed; the victim was severely burned on the upper torso, head, neck, hands, and arms; and an ashtray was found on the table next to the bed. Questioning the relatives may reveal that the victim was a heavy smoker and had been observed smoking in bed on numerous occasions. Further, the presence or absence of a properly maintained smoke detector can be determined.
By studying the circumstances that resulted in an individual’s death, we can learn many lessons and share them with the rest of the community through an imaginative public education program. Hopefully, this will result in other lives being saved.
Handling the media
At a fatal fire scene, the IC is almost always approached by members of the media seeking information. Planning for this includes designating an individual as the public information officer (PIO) and making this person available to reporters. The PIO should be prepared to answer the “who, what, where, when, and why” questions that journalists usually ask.
A skilled PIO will use language that is honest but that will not expose the fire department to criticism later as more facts are uncovered. For example, when asked for the cause of a fatal fire, the PIO can say, “It is under investigation,” rather than, “We don’t know yet.” The condition of the body may be described as “severely burned” rather than “burned beyond recognition.” The PIO can also say, “The name of the victim is being determined by the medical examiner,” instead of, “We don’t know who died in the fire.” In response to requests for statements from the IC, the PIO might say, “The chief is deeply involved in the fire investigation at present. He will be making a formal statement tomorrow at 10 A.M. at fire headquarters.”
It is absolutely essential to provide the PIO with factual information in order to preserve the fire department’s credibility with the media. The PIO must have access to the IC, but the reporters need not have the same access. In addition, all fire department members at the scene of a fatal fire should be cautioned against making state* ments to the media. Comments are often taken out of context and used to draw inappropriate or inaccurate conclusions.
The media can be an important resource, however, especially in the areas of fire safety education and public relations. Planning ahead of time to provide them with accurate, honest information will help to develop a good relationship between the media and the fire service.
Provide counseling sessions
You should also plan to provide psychological counseling for all fire department members, if necessary. Studies have shown that, particularly after multi-casualty incidents, firefighters can be deeply emotionally affected by what they see and what they have to handle. The same emotional response can occur after a fatal fire.
Flip remarks about the “roasts” and similar descriptions of charred bodies are often attempts to cover up some intensely felt emotions. Professional counseling, group therapy sessions, and positive reinforcement from the IC can be tremendously helpful. The firefighter is the department’s greatest resource. An investment in his or her psychological as well as physical wellbeing will pay dividends for years to come.
SUMMARY
The goal of the fire service is to prevent the loss of life and property. A fatal fire that is managed effectively can have a positive effect on the firefighters involved and on the rest of the community.
* In caretaker situations, the victims often cannot take the appropriate actions to save their own lives. In these cases, the caretaker’s behavior should be examined to see if it had an effect on the fatality.
