OSHA Fines Arizona Fire District $20,000

August 23, 2007 – After a thorough investigation, the Arizona Department of Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) cited Hualapai Valley Fire District with 13 safety violations, fining the District $20,000 for the May 16 live burn training exercise that included practices that put fire fighters in danger.

The training exercise, approved by the fire chief and executed by a new battalion chief, was designed to teach new fire fighters how to conduct a search and rescue during a real fire. The exercise required a fire fighter to go inside a mobile home to ignite a fire and then serve as the victim in the scenario. During the evolution, fire fighter trainees were unsuccessful in putting out the fire and rescuing the victim. That fire fighter victim eventually saved himself.

“Once I heard the details of that exercise, it was immediately apparent that the fire chief had put everybody present at that drill in danger,” says Tim Hill, president of the Professional Fire Fighters of Arizona (PFFA). “I did not hesitate to file a formal complaint with the state OSHA office.”

“Serious safety violations were committed from the very beginning by putting a fire fighter inside a burning building by himself,” says Robert Borker, president of the Uniformed Professional Firefighters of Kingman, AZ Local 4191, the IAFF local that represents Hualapai Valley Fire District fire fighters. “That fire fighter was not provided a radio in case things went wrong, so he had no way to call for help. The mishandling of this training exercise cannot be overstated.”

After OSHA conducted its investigation, it found the following violations:

• Untrained personnel involved with the live fire fighting drill did not meet job performance requirements;
• A live fire victim was asked to play the role of the down fire fighter or victim inside a burning structure;
• A rapid intervention crew was not provided with any specialized equipment – no tools, back-up SCBA cylinder or buddy breathing system;
• Utilities were not disconnected or removed;
• No pre-burn briefing conducted with the participants – no walk-though or diagram, no mention of a possible victim;
• Flammable liquid used to start the fire;
• No written standard operating procedures at Hualapai Valley Fire District for live fire drills;
• Students did not know or have a building evacuation plan or emergency signal for the live fire drill;
• The safety officer did not inspect all participants prior to entry into a live fire building to ensure that all PPE, including SCBA, was worn and used properly;
• All accidents, near misses or injuries were not reported as per NFPA 1500. Specifically, a fire fighter’s hand was burned during the exercise and it was not reported;
• The ignition officer was not provided with a charged hose line when igniting the live burn;
• The ignition officer lit the fire without the presence of a safety officer.

“All of these issues could have been avoided with the proper safety measures in place and a prudent chief officer who was performing his duties,” says Borker. “It is close to a miracle that there were no serious injuries or deaths.”

Since these violations and the $20,000 fine was announced, representatives from the Hualapai Valley Fire District have publicly promised to appeal, maintaining that many of the citations were unwarranted.

“OSHA did a very thorough investigation,” Borker says. “In fact, it sent investigators here twice just to make sure that the facts regarding the case were accurate. I believe that the investigation was fair and unbiased.”

Meanwhile, the fire chief is not only under fire concerning OSHA violations, Local 4191 has filed a lawsuit after he unfairly fired one local union officer and five other Local 4191 members. The case is represented under the IAFF Guardian Policy and is set to go to trial in February 2008.