Impact A story of 

NIOSH Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation 

Helps Incident Commander Choose Strategy 

and Tactics to Control Flow Path and Protect 

Fire Fighters 

Every time fre fghters enter a burning building 

they put themselves at risk of injury and death. Each 

year 80 to 100 fre fghters die in the line of duty.1

 To 

prevent these deaths, the NIOSH Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program conducts 

independent investigations, analyzes information 

collected, and prepares a report with prevention 

recommendations. 

In March 2014, a fre lieutenant and a fre fghter died 

fghting a structure fre in a residential, Brownstone. 

Te fre started as a result of welders installing a hand 

rail at the rear (Side Charlie) of the building. Te frst 

fre fghters on the scene entered the building through 

the front door (Side Alpha) and moved to the basement, searching for the fre and a potential victim. 

Te fre grew quickly due to the rear door being lef 

open afer a maintenance worker checked the activated smoke detector and residents fed the building, and 

from 60 mile per hour (mph) winds. A wind-driven 

fre, like this one, is particularly dangerous to fght 

 Residential fre in New York where tactics 

recommended by a NIOSH fre fghter fatality 

investigation report were used. Photo courtesy 

of the Nesconset Fire Department. 

Relevant Information 

Fire departments should: 

• ensure that fre fghters do not place 

themselves within a fow path or between the fre and a ventilation opening. 

• identify weather conditions and the 

impact they may have on how to best 

control a fre. 

• develop and use specifc strategies 

and tactics for fghting wind-driven fres. 

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because of the potential for strong and sudden increases in fre, heat, and smoke conditions. 

Te open doors at the front and rear of the Brownstone created a fow path for air pushed 

by the high winds to feed the fre, allowing the fre to spread quickly. Tis trapped the fre 

lieutenant and fre fghter in the basement. 

NIOSH investigated the incident and published the report: Lieutenant and Fire Fighter Die 

and 13 Fire Fighters Injured in a Wind-Driven Fire in Brownstone- Massachusetts.

2

 Using fre 

dynamics research conducted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and 

Underwriters Laboratories,3-5 this report identifed three key recommendations related to 

fow path: 1) incident commanders should conduct a risk assessment upon arrival and consider options to safely attack the fre, 2) incident commanders should adjust fre-fghting 

tactics based on weather conditions during structure fres, and 3) fre departments should 

educate fre fghters on the impact of wind. 

Impact 

As a result of the NIOSH report, the Nesconset Fire Department in Long Island, New York, 

considered wind direction and its efect on fow path when responding to a call, in April 

2016, during a Nor’easter that produced winds gusts exceeding 60 mph. Chief, James Keane, stated “Afer reading the NIOSH report from the Brownstone fre in Massachusetts, 

I recognized the possibility of a wind-driven fre and sent hose lines to fght the fre from 

downwind and upwind, in addition to accessing the fre directly from Side B (the lef side 

of the structure).” During the fre, conditions inside deteriorated rapidly. However, attacking the fre from upwind and keeping the doors of the home closed while fghting the fre, 

quickly reduced the heat and smoke, allowing fre fghters to safely exit. 

Te Chief shares the impact this NIOSH report had on the decision to fght the fre from 

upwind at fre service seminars and training sessions. Putting report recommendations into 

action can help keep fre fghters safe. As Chief Keane noted, “I’m confdent that using this 

tactic during the high wind weather conditions we were experiencing helped to save lives 

and prevent injury of the fre fghters who responded to this call.” 

Mention of company names or products does not imply endorsement by the National Institute for Occupational 

Safety and Health. Additionally, citations to websites external to NIOSH do not constitute NIOSH endorsement of the 

sponsoring organizations or their programs or products. Further, NIOSH is not responsible for the content of these 

websites. All web addresses referenced in this document were accessible as of the publication date. 

For more information about the NIOSH Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program and to see a complete listing of our reports, visit: (https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/fre/). 

NIOSH thanks Chief James Keane for sharing the tactics the Nesconset Fire Department used to fght wind-driven 

fres. 

1-5For a complete list of references, see www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2017-200 

To receive NIOSH documents or more information about occupational safety and health topics, please contact NIOSH. 

Telephone: 1–800–cdc–info (1–800–232–4636) | TTY: 1–888–232–6348 | www.cdc.gov/info. 

For a monthly update on news at NIOSH, subscribe to NIOSH eNews by visiting www.cdc.gov/niosh/eNews. 

DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2017–200. 

September, 2017. 

Centers for Disease Control 

and Prevention 

National Institute for Occupational 

Safety and Health