Relevant Information

• The overhead wood-truss supports were on fire and concealed 

by a pan ceiling.

• Incident command was not 

aware that 3 fire fighters were in 

the structure.

• Fire departments need to be 

aware of the potential hazards 

of pan ceilings and adjust

firefighting tactics.

• The news forum Firefighter 

Close Calls developed a 1-page 

poster highlighting NIOSH 

FFFIPP report findings.2

Hidden spaces that support the spread of fire can have 

devastating effects for fire fighters who enter burning 

structures. In August 2014, one firefighter was killed 

and another was injured after a roof collapse that was 

likely due, in part, to a fire that was hidden by a pan 

ceiling. A pan ceiling is a metal ceiling that, in this 

case, covered wooden truss supports of a commercial 

storage unit. The space between the pan ceiling and 

roof created a room similar to an attic that supported 

the spread of the fire and burned the trusses, which 

ultimately caused the roof collapse.

To better understand this fire event, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Fire 

Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program 

(FFFIPP) conducted an investigation of the assistant 

fire chief ’s line-of-duty death. Rapid fire spread that 

was hidden by a pan ceiling was identified as a contributing factor in the collapse that killed the assistant 

chief. In addition to the pan ceiling in this incident 

hiding the fire, FFFIPP investigators identified other 

factors that contributed to the death of the assistant 

fire chief. These were the lack of an established incident command, break-down in communication, poor 

situational awareness, and no safety officer on scene. 

Impact

Popular Firefighting News Forum Develops 

Training Poster based on NIOSH Fire Fighter 

Fatality Investigation Report

 Image on left shows the installation of a pan 

ceiling (photo credit: Chief Brian Kazmierzak), 

the image in the center shows a commercial 

building without a pan ceiling (photo credit: 

NIOSH), and the poster on the far right was 

produced by Chief Billy Goldfeder

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A story of
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

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CDC/NIOSH INFO: cdc.gov/info | cdc.gov/niosh

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DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2019-167

DOI: https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHPUB2019167

September 2019

As a result, NIOSH recommended that fire departments take the following steps to prevent 

similar deaths: identify a single incident commander, conduct a risk assessment, collaborate 

with neighboring fire departments to develop standard operating procedures, establish collapse zones, and designate a safety officer for structure fires.1

The NIOSH FFFIPP published a report detailing this fire event. The report includes contributing factors as well as recommendations to prevent similar deaths from occurring. To 

ensure that the information in the report got to the broader fire service community, key 

information from the report was featured on a training poster prepared by Firefighter Close 

Calls, a popular online firefighting news and update forum.

Impact

Based on this FFFIPP investigation report, Firefighter Close Calls – which gets about 1 million 

unique web visits each month, created and posted a 1-page poster for the fire service to display in 

their departments. This poster summarizes key information and contributing factors from this 

NIOSH FFFIPP report. Firefighter Close Calls also produces an e-newsletter called the Secret 

List, which is sent to about 400,000 subscribers. The poster was also sent to subscribers of the 

Secret List. Firefighter Close Calls intends to develop posters for future published NIOSH 

FFFIPP reports.2

References:

1

NIOSH [2018]. Death in the line of duty. By Miles, S, Loflin, M. Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and 

Human Services, Centers for Disease and Control Preventions, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 

DHHS (NIOSH) Publication 2014-18, https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/fire/pdfs/face201418.pdf.

2

Goldfeder, B. [2018]. NIOSH ff fatality report 2014-18. Poster. 

https://www.firefighterclosecalls.com/niosh-lessons-learned/

Suggested Citation:

NIOSH [2019]. A story of impact: A popular firefighting news forum develops training poster based on NIOSH Fire 

Fighter Fatality Investigation Report. By Miles S, Wilson KJ, Webb S. Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and 

Human Services, Centers for Disease and Control Preventions, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 

DHHS (NIOSH) Publication 2019 – 167. DOI: https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHPUB2019167