Indeed, on the first trip to Massachusetts the investigators remained in the background, offering assistance when requested but refraining from conducting interviews. We offered any information we could provide, and tried to have a support role. The goal of FACE is to collect information on factors that may have contributed to an occupational fatality, and to develop recommendations for the prevention of similar incidents. The Worcester interviews themselves, which the team initiated on the second trip to the scene, were awash with emotion.
Emotions are one thing that s consistent.
For the investigators, conducting interviews and examining the scene can be a difficult task. We have to make people relive the event, and that can be draining. The offices in West Virginia oversee the trauma fatality investigations. They also have a department devoted to SCBA equipment and maintenance programs, and in-house laboratories for examining equipment. Ohio offices investigate cardiovascular deaths.