New Line of Duty Death Report Addressing a POV Crash

Lessons Learned Include Driver Training, POV SOP, and Self-Dispatching

The Emergency Responder Safety Institute commends the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP) on the release of their most recent Line Of Duty Death Report, Volunteer Firefighter Dies and Second Injured in Privately Owned Vehicle Crash – Louisiana. This report identifies contributing factors and recommends changes stemming from a line-of-duty death due to the crash of a privately owned vehicle (POV) containing two firefighters who self-dispatched to a medical emergency on the roadway. The POV left the roadway and struck two trees when the driver failed to negotiate a 90º curve. The firefighter who was driving was killed and the other firefighter was injured. The report highlights how important it is that departments train personnel in driving safety that includes adjusting for weather conditions and managing emotions, have and enforce a POV SOP, and prohibit self-dispatching. The ERSI encourages emergency response personnel in all disciplines to read Volunteer Firefighter Dies and Second Injured in Privately Owned Vehicle Crash – Louisiana and apply its lessons learned. The report includes significant detail on implementing its recommendations.

The NIOSH Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program is the only national research organization that systematically investigates a wide range of firefighter line-of-duty-deaths to determine what contributed to the fatality and how departments can implement measures to prevent similar incidents. Research like this directly contributes to achieving the Emergency Responder Safety Institute’s mission of improving the safety of all emergency services personnel who operate on the roadway because we use the factors FFFIPP identifies as building blocks for training program content.