Lawsuits vs. St.Louis FD and Survivair

[Guest]

Lawsuit claims faulty device cost firefighter his life

By Robert Patrick

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

Tuesday, Sep. 12 2006

Vital safety equipment used by the St. Louis Fire Department can let water in

and malfunction, endangering the lives of firefighters, a lawyer claimed in St.

Louis Circuit Court Tuesday.

Lawyer Daniel Finney, who represents the widow and two children of Rob

Morrison, one of two firefighters killed in a fierce 2002 blaze, made the claim

in his opening statement to jurors in a civil lawsuit trial that is expected to

last two to three weeks.

The Morrison family's lawsuit contends that a safety device worn by Morrison at

the fire malfunctioned and failed to sound an alarm. That prevented

firefighters from finding him in "zero visibility" conditions on the building's

second floor.

The device, called PASS, which stands for personal alert safety system, is

designed to emit a loud alarm if a firefighter doesn't move for about 20

seconds. Firefighters can also trigger the units manually.

Finney told jurors that Morrison's PASS did not work because water had leaked

into it. Firefighters couldn't find him in the smoke until one searcher stepped

on his prone body.

Morrison was pulled out after he had been missing 20 minutes, Finney said.

The device was not sounding when Morrison was found, Finney said.

The fire on May 3, 2002, was at the Gravois Refrigeration facility at 2241

Gravois Avenue.

The family of the other firefighter killed, Derek Martin, is also suing the

maker of the PASS device, Survivair; its French parent company, Bacou-Dalloz;

and St. Louis-based distributor Colt Safety, Fire and Rescue. The Martin

family's lawsuit says his breathing equipment malfunctioned, causing him to run

out of air. It also says Martin never would have become trapped if Morrison's

PASS device had been working.

That lawsuit is still pending.

Survivair lawyer Lynn Hursh told jurors that no water had been found in

Morrison's PASS equipment and that it had tested fine after the fire. Although

water in the battery compartment could cause a failure, no water was found in

Morrison's battery compartment, Hursh said.

Morrison's family contends that water was in a separate electronics

compartment. Hursh said water in the electronics compartment would cause the

PASS to emit an alarm that could not be turned off. It was designed that way,

he said, as a safety measure.

"You cannot make this device fail," Hursh said.

Hursh said that although fire departments, including St. Louis', had returned

malfunctioning units, the only reported problems were units that would not shut

off.

Hursh said witnesses would testify that they had heard a PASS device sounding

while Morrison was missing. He also said Morrison should have left the fire

before he became incapacitated.

The first three witnesses, who testified via videotaped depositions, were

current or former Survivair employees who said that water could cause the PASS

device to fail and not sound an alarm.

A Survivair employee - who had worked to fix the PASS device so water could not

get in - testified that water could cause it to emit an alarm that could not be

shut off, or that it could cause the device to fail to emit an audio or visible

alarm.

Both sides presented heavily edited videos of the depositions for jurors. In

the short defense version, the engineer was asked if he was aware of any

instances of the PASS not performing as designed.

"As designed? No," he responded.

Another engineer agreed that water could cause the PASS to stop working but

said the problem might not be detected unless technicians examined the device

right away.

In the defense's version, he said the PASS would have to be submerged to get

enough water in it to stop it from working. He also said he'd never seen enough

water in a lab-testing situation to shut the PASS down.

Survivair head Jack Bell testified that the company was aware of units letting

water in as early as 1999 but did not officially notify customers.

"The word was out there," he said. "We decided that that did not require an

official notice."

Bell said the biggest customer complaint was about units that were too

sensitive to lack of motion, so firefighters would have to do a dance to get

the unit to reset. He said the malfunctions only had to do with the units not

turning off.

"It was not a safety issue," he said.

The deaths of Martin and Morrison were the department's first deaths in the

line of duty in 25 years.

Investigations by the department and the National Institute for Occupational

Safety and Health concluded that a series of accidents and mistakes contributed

to the deaths.

They cited firefighters working in the building without partners, not properly ventilating smoke and using air tanks that didn't start out full.

Morrison entered the fire with a visiting Lake of the Ozarks firefighter who

was riding along to gain experience. They quickly became separated. That

firefighter was unfamiliar with the department's equipment and should not have

been allowed inside, a department report said.

The Fire Department made policy, equipment and training changes following those

reports, including posting a rapid intervention team of rested firefighters

with full air tanks outside a fire in case rescues are needed.

Asked if the current equipment being used by firefighters was safe, St. Louis

Fire Chief Sherman George said, "I don't know all that yet.

"We're looking into some things, but I want to see how this court case turns

out."

[JBE 328]

As much as I hope the families win this suit, and they get every penny they can get out of these companies, it won't bring them any more solace. It won't bring these two men back. The best thing that can come out of this is that there's improvements in the equipment that will keep this from ever happening again.

[FirNaTine 370]

As much as we would like it to be the Manufacturer's sole resposibility for an LOD death let's face it guys, many of us get complacent on the job, even when it comes to making sure our SCBA is fully charged with the appropriate amount of air in our cylinders. I see it all the time on my job. Almost every time I report for duty, I have to switch my cylinder for a fresh one. I can't even begin to count the number of times my bottle is at 4000psi or lower. Many LOD deaths can not only be attributed to gross negligence on a manufacturer but on the firfighter himself/herself whether you like to hear it or not. Like is always said, we can be our own worst enemy. Think about it.

[Monty 35]

As much as I hope the families win this suit, and they get every penny they can get out of these companies, it won't bring them any more solace. It won't bring these two men back. The best thing that can come out of this is that there's improvements in the equipment that will keep this from ever happening again.

←

I respectfully disagree. Looks like they are trying to find a scapegoat. Firefighting is a risky business. We try to mitigate the risks as much as possible. If they win, then all SCBA manufacturers will spend more money on insurance, R&D, making things more foolproof. In turn this drives up the cost of new equipment and more departments don't upgrade and stay with old equipment.

Like most things, it seems that there was a chain reaction of bad events possibly including training, experience, manpower, equipment.

My final thought - how much attention do people on a fire scene pay to PASS devices? I know when I started we had units that had to be turned on - and often weren't. If you heard a PASS you paid attention (at least to some extent). These days, with the automatic alarms - how often are they just ignored? Until some really gets pi**ed off, or someon that has enough training can turn them off.

[ny10570 745]

This seems pretty simple to me...if surviveair was negligent in publishing and/or fixing a known problem then these people deserve every penny they can get. If however the rquipmnt was not deffective or this is a new undocumanted flaw, then this suit should be thrown out immediately.

[res6cue 67]

Survivair head Jack Bell testified that the company was aware of units letting water in as early as 1999 but did not officially notify customers.

"The word was out there," he said. "We decided that that did not require an official notice."

If I knew nothing else about this story or about their product, this direct quote alone would concern me terribly. We're not talking about a little $5 toy you bought in K-Mart that sometimes doesn't work, we're talking about people's LIVES. I'm sorry, but "the word was out there" is simply not good enough when you're talking about a potential defect in a device designed to save lives. Swallow your pride and issue some kind of official notice to each and every dealer and customer, period.

Hursh said water in the electronics compartment would cause the PASS to emit an alarm that could not be turned off. It was designed that way, he said, as a safety measure.

I'm sorry, but having it constantly alert is almost (but not quite) as bad as not having it go off at all. As Monty pointed out, we're already falling victim to the "cry wolf" syndrome with these alarms going off inadvertently all the time as it is, we don't need an issue with the manufacturing of the device to complicate matters.

"It was not a safety issue," (Bell) said.

Nonsense. Find a solution to fix the problem, issue a recall notice and get the battery and electronics compartments sealed watertight. I can't imagine it really takes much to put some sort of gasket around potential points of entry for liquid or smoke.

Edited September 15, 2006 by res6cue

[AFS1970 504]

Hursh said witnesses would testify that they had heard a PASS device sounding

while Morrison was missing. He also said Morrison should have left the fire

before he became incapacitated.

So the lawyer is a firefighting Tactics Expert? I think that in every single LOD Death of Injury case, we would all agree that it would be great if the firefighter had been able to get out before being killed or injured, but sadly that does not happen. The PASS is designed for just such a purpose, so that if we don't make it out, our brothers can find us and hopefully get us out. A PASS failure, as this case shows, is a major fireground event. I also have to wonder if those witnesses are able to distinguish between the PASS alarms of diferent firefighters? If so, I'd love to learn that trick, because that would sure speed up rescues, if we knew who's alarm was sounding.

[Guest alsfirefighter]

If it makes the equipment safer then up the cost. There have been other manufacturers that have had problems when the PASS alarms have been submerged. In fact if I remember correctly and I'm trying to find the copy I recently received, the new NFPA standard for PASS alarms includes a test that involves submerging the PASS for a set amount of time and it still has to be able to function. This isn't the only incident where submersion has been mentioned as an issue, I believe that it was also noted that a PASS didn't function properly after it was found to have water in it with the Thomas Brick LODD in NYC. I have also have witnessed an integrated PASS reset when a UHF radio transmission was made when the radio was right next to it. Not only did I witness it, but re-enacted the scenario multiple times with the radio up to about 6 inches away.

I received an email from firefighterclosecalls.com, where when asked, the Chief of St. Louis FD was asked if the problem had yet to be resolved, his reply was "I do not know that information right now." This occurred in 2002?

Additionally, in a safety alerts I get from a State employee, Survivair sent out a notice recently about something with their SCBA's. The problem is and I"m still trying to hunt it down was the link didn't take me right to it and I couldn't find it on the CPSC's website.

[JustSomeGuy 0]

what about portable radios being submerged? I know the ones I use will not work, I dont mean to take over the thread, but does anyone have anything to say about this?

[msm232 69]

FYI - ALS........Here are the changes to NFPA for SCBA's:

NFPA 2007 Edition – Overview of Changes

The following information is intended to supply you a top level overview and reference point pertaining to the key changes to the NFPA 1981 Standard for Self Contained Breathing Apparatus and 1982 Standard for Personal Alert Safety Systems. It is important to note that this document is not all inclusive but rather highlights the significant upcoming changes to the standards. The below topics are addressed in random order of importance.

 The changes to the NFPA 1981 Standard on Open-Circuit Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus for Fire and Emergency Services 2007 edition and NFPA 1982 Standard on Personal Alert Safety Systems (PASS) 2007 edition become effective in February 2007. Mandatory implementation becomes effective in August 2007. This means that SCBA manufacturers can begin shipping 2007 compliant products in February and must ship by August 2007.

 CBRN protection is mandatory under the NFPA 1981, 2007 edition for all SCBA’s and will be required to receive grant money from the Assistance to Fire Grants (AFG). Bottom line; CBRN will not be just a nice to have but rather a must have for compliance purposes and to be eligible to receive grant money from AFG.

 Changes in communications for SCBA’s include a performance requirement for voice communication systems set at an 85% minimum score at 10 feet. The new mechanical voice diaphragm performance test will have an 80% minimum score at 5 feet. In layman terms this means electronic voice amplification will most likely be required with every 2007 compliant SCBA that is shipped.

 As a normal function of the human breathing cycle carbon dioxide (CO2) is exhaled. To align itself more closely to the EN Standards (European Standard) NFPA adopted a 1% CO2 requirement inside the face piece versus the current 1.5%. This simply means that amount of measured carbon dioxide within the SCBA face piece is required to be 1% or less.

 As part of new environmental test requirements NFPA added a heat soak and water immersion test for both the SCBA and PASS devices. Under the new performance requirement all electronics, for example, voice amps, HUD, and PASS devices must pass the heat soak/water immersion test. The testing involves a 350°F heat soak for 15 minutes, a 2 minute wait time, followed by immersion into approximately 5 feet of water for 15 minutes. The device must remain waterproof. The cycle of heat soak and water immersion is repeated a total of 6 times.

 A HUD and Pressure Gauge will be required for all Self Contained Breathing Apparatus. Changes to the standard will now require both devices as oppose to the NFPA 1981, 2002 Standard which allows only a HUD. Note that electrical pressure gauges must also have a separate power source from all other electronics.

 PASS devices have a new muffle test in which it has to release 1 data point greater than 95dBA at 10 feet while the user is in five different positions including face down, supine right/left, and fetal right/left. Simply stated, the muffle test simulates the proper function of a PASS device in any position of a potential downed or trapped emergency responder or firefighter.

A 3 new hour destructive tumble test has also been added to PASS devices to push the device to the breaking point. The PASS is placed in a four foot diameter cage and tumbled for three hours. The PASS device must properly function per the manufacturer’s specification upon completion of the test.

 Data logging will also be required for all PASS devices. The data logging function which features date/time stamps will log the most recent 200 events, for example, low battery alert, PASS on/off mode, pre-alarm and reset notification. Once the data logging function reaches the 200th data point it cycles again replacing the first event and so forth. Note that the standard does not require end users to use data logging but rather only to have the ability for data logging.

The Technical Correlation Committee (TCC) has approved the proposed changes to NFPA 1981 & 1982 Standards thus the process has moved forward to the NFPA Standards Council. In October 2006, comments (if any) from the NFPA general membership will be reviewed and if there is no major pushback the Standards will be adopted for publication in February 2007.

Stya Informed and Stay Safe...

msm232

[Guest alsfirefighter]

Thanks MSM. I couldn't locate the copy I received of it but that is exactly what I was looking for.

[msm232 69]

Also,,,,, here is the link to the NIOSH report for the Brick fire:

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/fire/reports/face200404.html

If you read both the 2007 NFPA update and the NIOSH report, it seems lots of the recco's are being implemented.

As far as I am concerned, every person who is involved in the fire service should be required to read the NIOSH reports.

"If you don't know your history, your doomed to repeat it" (unknown)

Stay informed and stay safe.

[Guest]

If I knew nothing else about this story or about their product, this direct quote alone would concern me terribly. We're not talking about a little $5 toy you bought in K-Mart that sometimes doesn't work, we're talking about people's LIVES. I'm sorry, but "the word was out there" is simply not good enough when you're talking about a potential defect in a device designed to save lives. Swallow your pride and issue some kind of official notice to each and every dealer and customer, period.

←

Excellent point--especially since Survivair was aware of the water issue since 1999.

And it was Spanish/American philosopher George Santyana who said "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." Too bad Survivair didn't decide to take a proactive stance and issue a simple press release/recall/retrofit notice. I guess that simply shows that the squeaky wheel gets the grease...especially if you let your lawyer do the squeaking.... And to think it took LODDs to make the point.

[Guest]

Suit in fireman's death settled

By Robert Patrick

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

Saturday, Sep. 23 2006

After a two-week trial, dozens of witnesses and charges that the St. Louis Fire Department was using unsafe equipment, a lawsuit filed by the widow of a firefighter killed in 2002 ended quietly Friday night when the case was

confidentially settled.

Neither side would comment on the terms of the settlement. But the amount is

believed to be between $1 million and $5 million.

The case centered on the Survivair Personal Alert Safety System, or PASS

device, which is worn on a firefighter's chest and is supposed to emit a

piercing alarm when a firefighter becomes lost, trapped or immobile.

The Survivair PASS is in use by the St. Louis Fire Department and at least

three other local departments.

Laura Morrison, widow of firefighter Rob Morrison, filed suit on behalf of

herself and her two children in late 2004. In court, Morrison's lawyer, Dan

Finney Jr., told jurors that water caused a malfunction of Rob Morrison's PASS

device in a fire on May 3, 2002, when Morrison became confused or lost, passed

out and wasn't rescued for 20 minutes.

Firefighter Derek Martin, who was trying to rescue Morrison, also died.

Finney said firefighters would have found and rescued Morrison if his PASS had

been alerting.

Survivair's lawyer, Lynn Hursh, admitted to jurors that some PASS devices

manufactured before 2004 leaked and allowed water access to internal electronic

circuitry. But he said engineers knew it was a possibility and designed the

PASS so that water would not cause it to fail, but to turn on, go into constant

alarm or to cycle on and off.

He also said Morrison, the Fire Department and other firefighters were

responsible for a series of mistakes that led to Morrison's death, including

one witness who said Morrison shrugged off an alarm warning that his air was

low. Others said the alarm only briefly sounded.

Experts said that leaks into the PASS device could cause it to fail. Others

said leaks would cause the unit to constantly alarm, to cycle on and off or to

turn on when turned off. A number of firefighters said they never heard

Morrison's PASS, including his rescuers. Others thought they did.

Jurors interviewed after the settlement was announced said the vote was split

and they were far from a resolution when the deal was reached after 7 p.m.

Friday.

Juror Desola Nunley said, "I just felt that both parties were at fault." But

Nunley said she didn't want to deny compensation to the Morrisons.

Finney said jurors told him that they believed the PASS was defective.

Hursh said several jurors approached him and said that they felt there was not

proof that water got into Morrison's PASS.

Laura Morrison said she hoped the trial, and the pending lawsuit involving the

family of Derek Martin, would prompt the St. Louis Fire Department to replace

all of their Survivair equipment.