Case Study
The purpose of this assignment is for you to apply the concepts and information you learned in this unit about combustion products. Also, this assignment provides you with the opportunity to use your skills, expertise, and experience to enrich your response.
The case study is the "Administrative Report Public Health Service/CDC/NIOSH/DSR FACE 98-03." Locate the report by going to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention website and typing the report information in the search engine. If you cannot locate the article please contact your professor.
This is a brief background from the report to the Director of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) on January 20, 1998 from the Division of Safety Research, NIOSH: FIR 3301, Fire Behavior and Combustion 5
Two Fire Fighters Die of Smoke and Soot Inhalation in Residential Fire - Pennsylvania
On October 27, 1997, two male fire fighters died of smoke and soot inhalation while fighting a residential fire. An Engine Company comprised of four fighters was responding to a 911 call of a downed power line in a residential neighborhood when one of the fire fighters noticed smoke emitting from the basement area of a nearby residence. Without notifying fire dispatch of the change in conditions (smoke coming from the residence), three fire fighters entered the residence to assist the residents out, and to survey the conditions and location of the fire. The fire fighters then exited the residence to don their self-contained breathing apparatus. Two of the fire fighters reentered the residence with a charged 3/4-inch booster line and proceeded to the basement (location of the fire) to attack the fire. This was the last time either fire fighter was seen alive. NIOSH investigators concluded that, to prevent similar occurrences, fire departments should: (1) ensure that fire fighters advise dispatch of any change in conditions that would warrant a change in the status of unit(s) responding to a specific condition (2) ensure that fire fighters wear and use PASS devices when involved in firefighting, rescue, and other hazardous duties.
Consider these requirements for your assignment:
- Discuss the case study thoroughly relating to smoke or fire effluent.
- Analyze the aerosols (soot particles and liquid droplets) and gases that could be related to the deaths. Why, or why not?
- Explain how the smoke components, as well as the smoke itself, could have contributed to the death.
- Did the light haze visible in the living room contain aerosol droplets that resulted from condensation of gases that cool as they leave the vicinity of the flames? Why, or why not?
- Did the smoke, soot, and aerosols reduce the ability to see in the dining room? Why, or why not?
- Could the moderate smoke and poor visibility that the firefighters encountered affect their ability to orient themselves and constructively identify a path to safety? Why, or why not?
- Is there anything you think the first firefighters should have or could have done differently? Support your answer.
Provide your responses in a document. The completed assignment must be a minimum of three pages in length, not including the title page and reference list. To supplement your discussion, you may use journal articles, other case studies, scholarly papers, and other sites you may find pertinent.
You must use APA style guidelines when writing your paper. You need to utilize at least two sources and you will need to cite these sources in-text and at the end of your essay in a "References" section. All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations.