LODD Summary: July 2009

In July there were 6 Line Of Duty Deaths:

1. Thomas Marovich fell during a rappelling training exercise and suffered fatal traumatic injuries.   The cause of the accident is under investigation.
2. Joseph Grace was found unresponsive in the firehouse kitchen after a busy shift.  Medical care was given immediately but he died later in the hospital.
3. David Grass was participating in physical training when he fell ill.  He later died in the hospital of a brain injury.  Exact cause unknown.
4. Ryan Wingard collapsed at the scene of a debris fire.  Just prior to his collapse, he reported that was not feeling well.  CPR was immediately initiated, but he also died in the hospital.  Cause is unknown.
5. Robert Johnson died after a nine month battle with a head injury from unknown circumstances.  During a PR detail, he was found unconscious on the opposite side of the rig after not returning from getting a SCBA.  He was hospitalized but never regained consciousness.
6. Elliott Haddix slumped over at the pump panel during a structure fire and died despite receiving immediate medical attention.  The exact cause of death is still undetermined.

In summary, there were 3 LODD attributed to stress/overexertion, 2 attributed to trauma and 1 attributed to a cerebrovascular accident.

It is difficult, if not impossible to prevent all types of health related deaths.  Some conditions are underlying, hereditary or have sudden onset with an unknown cause.  Sometimes the best we can do is maintain vigilance in participating in annual health physicals, including stress tests, to try to discover the problems before they become life threatening.  The combination of annual physicals and maintaining a healthy diet and routine exercise can be the best prevention of health related LODD.

RFB

FTM-PTB and Be Safe