The NIOSH Firefighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program has released the line of duty death report of career Kentucky chief officer who was found dead after completing an annual physical ability test on Octover 30, 2014.
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Major Suffers Sudden Cardiac Death after Annual Physical Ability Test
On October 30, 2014, a 60-year-old male career Major underwent his fire department’s annual medical evaluation and physical ability test (PAT). The PAT consisted of 10 timed maneuvers while wearing full turnout gear and self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). The Major completed all 10 maneuvers over 25 minutes without incident or complaint. On his way home, the Major stopped at an abandoned gas station and called 911 on his cell phone at 1058 hours. After talking with the 911 operator for a few seconds, the Major hung up. The 911 operator called back, but the Major stated he did not need assistance.
About 10 minutes later the Major called a crew member to discuss a project. During that conversation the crew member told the Major that he did not sound well; the Major responded that he had just completed his annual medical/physical evaluation and there was no problem.
When the Major did not return home that evening (about 10 hours later), his family traced his cell phone and located him at the gas station. Fire department and ambulance paramedics responded and found him deceased for quite some time (cold body and rigor mortis). He was declared dead at the scene.
The death certificate and the autopsy, completed by the county medical examiner, listed “hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease” as the cause of death with “obesity” as a contributing factor.
The NIOSH investigators concluded that the Major’s sudden cardiac death was probably due to a primary arrhythmia or a heart attack, precipitated by the physical stress of the physical ability test.
Key Recommendations:
- Perform symptom-limiting exercise stress tests (ESTs) on fire fighters at increased risk for coronary heart disease (CHD and sudden cardiac events
- Perform ESTs only on fire fighters at increased risk for CHD and sudden cardiac events
- Ensure that fire fighters are cleared for duty by a physician knowledgeable about the physical demands of fire fighting,the personal protective equipment used by fire fighters, and the components of National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)standard 1582
- Phase in a mandatory comprehensive wellness and fitness program for fire fighters.
