On October 20, 2004, a 58-year-old male career Fire Chief responded to a motor vehicle crash (MVC). After assisting with traffi c control for about 30 minutes and with other operations for about 20 minutes, he went home. About three hours later, while taking a shower, the Chief collapsed. When discovered by his wife a minute later, he was unresponsive, but still breathing. She called 911 and an ambulance was dispatched. Despite cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and advanced life support (ALS) performed by fire department (FD) crew members, ambulance service paramedics, and hospital emergency department (ED) personnel, the Chief died. The death certificate, completed by the attending physician, listed arrhythmia as the cause of death due to coronary artery disease (CAD) with atrial fibrillation and sleep apnea as other significant conditions. No autopsy was performed. The NIOSH investigator concluded that the physical stress of responding to the MVC, the Chief's underlying arteriosclerotic CAD, and his history of atrial fibrillation and sleep apnea contributed to his sudden cardiac death.
Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Report: Fire Chief Suffers Sudden Cardiac Death After Responding to a Motor Vehicle Crash in Texas
2005
16 pages
Report
No indication
English
Public Health & Industrial Medicine , Environmental & Occupational Factors , Emergency Services & Planning , Police, Fire, & Emergency Services , Occupational safety and health , Accident investigations , Fire fighters , Cardiac arrest , Fatalities , Cardiovascular disease , Emergency response , Fire department , Texas , Recommendations , Cardiopulmonary resuscitation(CPR) , Advanced life support(ALS)