Philly LODD Prompts Lawsuit Against Fire Equipment Manufacturers

[Viper 139]

Quote

 

 The estate of a Philadelphia firefighter who died at a house fire two years ago, has filed suit against 30 defendants who manufactured or supplied the SCBA and protective equipment she wore.

 

 

http://www.firelawblog.com/2016/12/11/philly-lodd-prompts-lawsuit-equipment-manufacturers/

[antiquefirelt 994]

The legal complaint is a bit difficult to read, they list competing manufacturers as all having a hand in the SCBA? Recent news images show PFD using Scott SCBA. The lawsuit seems to go after every part of the firefighters protective gear, but doesn't give details of who made what and what the failure was that they believe resulted in the fatality. maybe just throwing it all against the wall to see what sticks? 

[houlidsa 76]

Its everyone from the manufacturer of the fire hood to the guy who sold it and the guys who service it.  Its a blanket lawsuit.  The reason MSA is listed because they own Cairns.   

 

Guys laugh when new facepieces have a sticker protecting the lens that says "remove before use".  Read the instruction manuals, some say not to be used in heat or flame.  When does it end?

 

Firefighting is dangerous.  The best trained, best equipped, smartest, fittest firefighters still get hurt and die.

 

If I remember correctly a lot of Phili FD policies were under scrutiny after this fire & long response times.

 

 

[antiquefirelt 994]

The only ones who will win are the lawyers. Unless they have a very detailed finding of a failed piece of equipment, I can't imagine the defense will have much difficulty showing the hundreds of other uncontrolled variables that might have caused this fatality. I see this being like the Boston situation looking at the hose manufacturer... Lawyers know they won't get much suing the city, so they go for the deepest private pockets. 

[x635 4,066]

 

I did some reading up on this article, and I'm curious as to why Philadelphia FD is not held liable in this lawsuit  (although maybe it is a separate lawsuit....her family has been requesting criminal charges against the FD). Maybe because they don't have as deep of pockets as the manufacturers as aforementioned in the thread. The NIOSH report is not yet out, but here are some snippets I found in articles from reputable online sources and Philadelphia FD quotes strongly suggesting the Air-Pak may not have been the issue:

 

-An inexperienced ladder crew took 18 minutes to respond. Ladder 8’s late arrival delayed the start of much needed ventilation. Receipt of the LODD Report may have shed light on the impact that the “Firefighter Rotation Policy” had on Ladder 8’s response time to the specific fire at 1655 Middleton Street.  Nevertheless, a review of Ladder 8’s roster showed that firefighters on duty that morning may have been unfamiliar with the community and their first alarm district. 

-The team with whom Craig entered the rowhouse got separated, leaving her alone inside after they were overcome by smoke and heat and ordered to withdraw.

-The blaze that killed Craig was the sort firefighters dread: a basement blaze in tight quarters with paneled walls (paneling burns fast and hot).

-As other firefighters have said, Craig was pulled from the house 17 minutes after her first Mayday alarm sounded, when firefighters found her by chance.

-Bright said she's unsure why her mask collapsed. She thinks, in hindsight, that she should have opened her air bottle more.

-Meanwhile, a radio dispatcher had spent several minutes trying to ascertain Craig's status.

"Any information on the emergency button?" he asked around 3:06 a.m., according to the dispatch transcripts.

"Still waiting on an explanation of the Mayday button," he said again over the radio at 3:08, the transcripts show.

-Craig was found slumped near a window in the home's kitchen, sitting on the coiled-up hose.

-In an interview last week, Craig's coworker Nyree Bright described a chaotic and confusing fire scene in which Craig's Mayday alarm went unheeded, and those who could have rescued her were not told she was missing.

-Deputy Chief Rich Davison, the author of the incident review report, wrote that Deputy Commissioner Jesse Wilson - the department's second-in-command - had asked for redactions and explained his request with the suggestion that "some statements in the critique could hurt the city," according to a copy of the entry obtained by The Inquirer.

 

It's terrible. Horrible...and tragic the outcome of this fire and RIP to FF Craig, but go after the manufacturers seems kind of moot.  When you have a cluster of an incident such as this, no material equipment in the world is going to save you nor is it designed to if used improperly.

 

SOURCES:

http://www.firehouse.com/news/12051057/probe-of-philly-lodd-continues-issues-eyed

http://6abc.com/news/fallen-firefighters-family-seeks-criminal-charges/552799/

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20150402_Phila__fire_official_wrote_of_being_pressured_to_alter_report_on_fatal_fire.html