Every year on Valor Day, firefighters and paramedics from the Prince George's County (Md.) Fire/EMS Department receive recognition for their heroic acts performed throughout the past year. During this year's luncheon, Ronald D. Blackwell, appointed fire chief six months prior, was brimming with pride for the department's crème de la crème. That elation would soon be gone.

Blackwell barely had completed the final award presentation when his executive officer, Maj. Kirk Jackson, told him that a sudden catastrophic release of gasoline from a fully involved auto had engulfed and severely burned a crew of firefighters.

Immediately, the two left the ceremony and headed for the Washington Hospital Center Burn Unit, as there's a standing order in Prince George's County for all fire personnel with burn-related injuries be transported directed to this facility.

‘Auto well-off’

Just past 1:30 in the afternoon, Engine 422 from Oxon Hill was dispatched to the parking lot of Rosecroft Raceway for a reported auto fire. Rosecroft is a large thoroughbred race course and simulcast facility with sprawling open parking lots. Prior to Engine 422's arrival, acting battalion chief Capt. Carl Brown arrived in his command vehicle and advised that he had an “auto well-off.” Two minutes after Engine 422's arrival, gasoline-fueled fireball was released in an explosion.

The officer in charge on Engine 422, Fire Technician John Crisman, directed the driver, Emergency Response Technician Christopher Whittington, to position the engine uphill and upwind from the auto. This would allow the crew to dismount safely while keeping the vehicle in view, and the hose line would not be in any run-off of products from the auto.

Engine 422 arrived and positioned the rig 40 feet from the initial auto fire. Crisman made a decision to use the jump line, a preconnected 100-foot 1H-inch hoseline, that was stored on the side step of the engine. It was then decided to break the trash line and use only 50 feet of the hose to extinguish the fire. Once the hoseline was established, Firefighter Vincent Williams and ERT Lloyd Woodall began advancing it. As they advanced the jump line into position, the car's rear tires blew from extreme heat, causing the rear end of the vehicle to sit almost directly on the ground.

Simultaneously, Crisman and Brown were deciding on hose placement and strategy, as the fire was now starting to extend to other vehicles. Brown directed the crew to use foam, rather than water, as the extinguishing agent. Crisman advised Brown that a foam operation would be established, but it would take some time. Because of the placement of the foam containers on the apparatus, personnel would have to temporarily stop suppression operations.

Crisman approached Williams and advised him of the decision to use foam. The catastrophic chain of events started when the windshield gave way, allowing fresh air into the already well-involved interior, and then the left front tire blew. Instantaneously, gasoline vapors rushed from beneath the automobile and toward the front end of the vehicle, drenching the crew with gasoline. An ensuing fireball erupted from those gas vapors, consuming everything it its path — including the firefighters.

Although they were wearing full protective clothing and SCBA, Williams and Woodall weren't wearing facepieces. Crisman had on protective equipment but no SCBA. Williams suffered the brunt of the flash and fury of the explosion, which caused severe burns to his face, ears, wrists and the top of his head. Woodall suffered burns to his face and hands, and Crisman sustained burns on his face, ears and neck. A priority radio transmission requested additional resources and advised of an explosion with firefighters down and badly injured.

Woodall directed the hose line toward Williams and Crisman in an effort to extinguish the fire that had consumed their PPE. Brown rushed to assist Woodall with extinguishing the fire and, in the process, sustained burn injuries to his arm. By now, there were four injured firefighters and three vehicles involved in the fire. An initial assessment of the crew revealed that Williams, who was burned around the mouth with the possibility of airway involvement, sustained the most serious injuries.

Hospital stay

Blackwell continued en route to the burn unit, all the while receiving continuous updates by telephone and fire department radios.

Upon arrival, he was greeted by a member of the department who had been on the scene of the explosion. She shared what she knew about the incident and condition of personnel. Blackwell contacted the families of the injured firefighters and arranged for them to be brought to the hospital. As the hours passed, Brown and Woodall were released that night in good condition. However, Crisman and Williams had sustained potentially life-threatening injuries to their faces and respiratory systems.

It was later determined that Williams had sustained the most-severe injuries. Blackwell met with the victim's family members, reassuring them as well as well our fire service family. For the next several hours he sat in the dark emergency room suite with Williams, occasionally speaking softly to the firefighter as hospital staff tended to his injuries. Blackwell would later recall this day as one of the most difficult during his tenure as chief.

Crisman would spend the next seven days being treated for his injuries and enduring extensive rehabilitation. Williams, who was hospitalized for 10 days, would spend the next few weeks regaining his strength and preparing to return to duty. Fortunately, both Crisman and Williams have fully recovered from their injuries have returned to duty.

On-scene investigation

Meanwhile, the department's fire investigators arrived and immediately began assessing the scene of the incident.

It was determined through interviews that the vehicle of origin had a full tank of gasoline, having filled up just prior to arriving at the racecourse. The vehicle owner stated that he was smoking and, while extinguishing the cigarette, some of the ashes had fallen out of the overflowing ashtray and onto some newspapers. He said he looked but did not see anything smoldering, so he exited the vehicle and walked toward the racecourse. The vehicle was filled with large amounts of newspapers, and the entire car was overflowing with combustibles creating a large and very willing fire load.

While walking to the grandstand, the owner looked toward his vehicle and observed visible flames in the passenger compartment. He hurriedly sought out a security guard, and the two walked back to the car. They could see that the entire passenger compartment was engulfed in flames. The security guard quickly alerted the fire department to the situation.

Prior to the explosion, the front windshield shattered and collapsed into the vehicle, which enabled the fresh air and 25MPH wind gusts to act as a blowtorch. A hole in the floorboard in front of the gas tank allowed for direct flame impingement on the gas tank.

The fire caused a boiling-liquid expanding-vapor explosion, or BLEVE, during which the fuel in the tank expanded. The expanded fuel tank built up internal pressure due to the fire conditions and then failed at the seam, which was verified by the damage to the vehicle's trunk area. This failure released the pressurized fuel to the front and sides of the vehicle. The firefighters were positioned on the front passenger side of the vehicle when the fuel tank failed, spraying them with burning gasoline.

Fire investigators determined that three of the tires on the vehicle, both rears and the left front, blew as a result of the heat. This caused the rear end to almost touch the ground and the left front side to angle the car down toward the left. The gas and flames were diverted to the front of the vehicle and directly toward the firefighters.

Training in the aftermath

The outcome of this particular and unusual incident could have been worse; however, burn injuries might have been minimized if all PPE had been used, including SCBA with facepieces in place.

Crisman has since put together a training class on overcoming tradition and emphasizing safety when fighting the “routine” fires. He shares his personal thoughts and what his injuries meant to him, his family and co-workers. This training class is provided throughout Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department and is a regular course for all county recruit schools. Williams, on the other hand, has spoken very little about the incident. Brown and Woodall also have returned to duty with remarkable insight as to what can occur on the most mundane call.

Crisman's presentation consists of reliving the day of the fire and what occurred. He states, “Upon arrival we found a car fully involved and the car next to it was partially involved. The crew started to attack the fires when the vehicle of origin violently erupted into a raging ball of fire, spewing gasoline all over the crew and myself. I received second- and third-degree burns to 6% of my face and neck. My injuries could have been avoided if I had been wearing all of the turnout gear provided to me. I did nothing wrong or out of the ordinary. I was just following tradition.” He urges the wearing of all PPE, including SCBA, on all fire calls.

Crisman also explains his preventable injuries in very personal and financial terms, in hopes of swaying firefighters to be safe rather than sorry. He states the high cost of his medical expenses, $19,396.70, to date. By the time he was able to return to full duty in emergency operations, the department had lost $34,982.40 in productivity. He was restricted to indoor activities during the daylight hours, allowed out only during the night. He missed numerous family gatherings and a social function, canceled family vacations, and was unable to participate in his daughter's school activities or have special outings with his wife.

Final lessons

Two weeks after the incident, members of the Fire Prevention and Investigations office met with special crash investigators and safety defects specialists from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

An examination of the 1988 Chevy Caprice was conducted to understand the failure of the fuel tank. Further examination of scene photos, victim and witness interviews, and a review of safety recalls revealed that the fire was accidental and that the tank failed due to the fire. There were no records of past incidents involving fuel tank/fuel system failures in the listed make/model. Representatives from the NHTSA concurred with the findings of the fire investigators.

The National Fallen Firefighter Foundation held a Firefighter Life-Safety Summit in Tampa, Fla., in March 2004. The summit produced 16 major initiatives that will give the fire service a blueprint for making changes. The top four initiatives could be applied directly to this incident:

• Define and advocate the need for a cultural change within the fire service relating to safety, incorporating leadership, management, supervision, accountability and personal responsibility.
• Enhance the personal and organizational accountability for health and safety throughout the fire service.
• Focus greater attention on the integration of risk management with incident management at all levels, including strategic, tactical, and planning responsibilities.
• Empower all firefighters to stop unsafe practices.

Crisman wishes he had a chance to re-live that day and, perhaps, change history. He knows that can never happen; however, several critical issues have been discussed as a result of this incident that could prevent this from occurring again.

Primarily, crew safety should be of utmost concern, not only to the officer in charge, but also to every crew member on the call. Secondly, there is no such thing as a “routine” fire. Finally, PPE including SCBA should be used on every fire call, regardless of the type of fire and conditions on arrival.

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Mark Brady is the public information officer for the Prince George's County (Md.) Fire/EMS Department. A 30-year fire service veteran, he has been with the department for 26 years.