The NIOSH Firefighter Fatality Investigation Program has released the report of a New York Assistant Chief killed during an explosion at a silo fire in April 2010.
Report: Volunteer Assistant Fire Chief Dies at a Silo Fire/Explosion – New York
On April 11, 2010, a 26-year-old male volunteer Assistant Fire Chief (the victim) responded to a silo fire at a local farm. Upon arrival, he observed open doors (hatches) on top of the 60-foot metal oxygen-limiting silo. He climbed to the top of the silo via a ladder attached to the outside of the silo and closed and secured the hatches. He descended the silo and when approximately half-way down, the silo exploded. The explosion caused a section of the ladder to detach from the silo and the victim fell about 30-feet to the ground. The victim was given cardiopulmonary resuscitation by another fire fighter at the scene and then transported by ambulance to a regional hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The IC and assistant chiefs agreed that the best course of action in combating the fire was to use no water on the silo, but instead to attempt to smother the fire by closing all the openings on the silo, and to introduce CO2 at the un-loader door opening. Assistant Chief 5 began making preparations to obtain as many CO2 extinguishers as were available. Simultaneously the IC called the farm owners to determine if they had any information from the silo manufacturer and request that the owners come to the scene. While the IC was on the phone, the victim decided to close the hatches on the silo. The victim and another fire fighter retrieved a 14-foot roof ladder from the side of Engine 3, and set it at the base of the silo to gain access to the ladder built into the side of the silo. The 14-foot roof ladder was too long so they retrieved the 10-foot folding attic ladder. The 10-foot ladder was placed against the silo and the victim gained access to the silo ladder. Wearing only his bunker pants, bunker boots, turnout coat, and gloves, he climbed to the top of the silo to shut the open hatches.
The victim reached the top of the silo and closed and secured the hatches. He then radioed Assistant Chief 2 stating that the hatches on top of the silo were now closed. The victim then started to climb down the ladder. When he was about half way down the silo, it exploded. The IC heard a loud sound and turned around in time to see the ladder break apart and the victim fall to the ground. The IC ran to the victim and found that he had a pulse and his breathing was shallow. The victim stopped breathing and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was started. A full response from a mutual aid fire department and a medical helicopter were dispatched to the scene. While CPR was in progress, the victim’s condition deteriorated, the helicopter was cancelled, and the victim was transported to a local hospital by ambulance where he was pronounced dead.
Contributing Factors:
– unrecognized hazards associated with a silo fire
– closing and securing the hatches on top of the silo.
Key Recommendations:
– review, revise, and enforce standard operating guidelines (SOGs) for structural fire fighting that include oxygen-limiting silos
– train officers and fire fighters on the hazards associated with different types of silos and the appropriate fire fighting tactics
– ensure that pre-emergency planning is completed for all types of silos located within fire department jurisdictions
– consider requiring that placards with hazard warnings and appropriate fire fighting guidelines be placed on silos
– consider silos as confined spaces and recognize the dangers associated with confined spaces when responding to silo fires
– ensure that an Incident Safety Officer is deployed at technical or complex operations.
