Inspection Detail

Inspection: 112176698 - La County Fire Stn 73

Inspection Information - Office: Van Nuys District Office

Investigation Summary

On April 23, 1997, Employee #1, an engineer with the Los Angeles County Fire Department, was at his station in Valencia, CA. He was attempting to transfer a Class A fire suppressant foam concentrate from some large drums into some smaller, 5 gallon containers. The containers would then be used to transfer the concentrate to reservoirs in the fire trucks, where it was mixed with water to make fire suppressant foam. Filling the truck reservoirs was part of Employee #1's regular job responsibilities, and he used a piece of rubber, garden-type hose to siphon the suppressant from the large drum into the smaller containers. To begin the siphoning, he used his mouth to suck the foam concentrate up to the hose. While drawing the concentrate up the hose, Employee #1 accidentally got some of the foam in his mouth, and inadvertently swallowed approximately 5 cubic centimeters of it. He was subsequently hospitalized, suffering from respiratory irritation, nausea, headaches, giddiness, and an abnormal heartbeat. Employee #1 was released after two days and eventually returned to work. He had not received sufficient training on the health hazards of the fire suppressant foam, nor on the proper handling of the material. A hand pump could have been used to transfer the foam from one container to another, instead of relying on mouth-siphoning.

Keywords: HEART, RESPIRATORY, HEADACHE, WORK RULES, NAUSEA, POISONING, UNTRAINED, CHEMICAL