Inspection Detail

Inspection: 301596979 - Malverne Fire Dept

Inspection Information - Office: Nys Dol Pesh Garden City

Investigation Summary

On July 30, 2006, Employee #1, a firefighter of the Malverne Volunteer Fire Department was performing maintenance checks of the vehicle, prior to its use in a drill. Another employee instructed the Fire Department's chauffeur to start pulling out the trucks and staging them outside for a drill. Meanwhile, another employee was sweeping the firehouse and lost track of Employee #1. When the Fire Department's chauffeur finished pulling out three trucks, he started to pull out Rescue Truck Number 438. As he was proceeding to pull out Rescue Truck Number 438, another employee heard a scream. When he looked up, he saw Employee #1 being pinned between the ceiling I-beam and the top of the fire truck. Afterwards, the Fire Department's chauffeur backed up, and Employee #1 fell to the ground. He injured his lower abdomen. Employee #1 died later at the Nassau County Medical Center. No one knew that Employee #1 was on top of the rescue truck. Probably, Employee #1 was checking on the levels of speedy-dry in the hopper, accessible only by climbing up the truck. At the time of this investigation, Rescue Truck Number 438 was located in the first bay of the fire house. There was very little clearance between the top of the truck and the 12-in. I-beam. The truck was not designed for persons to work on top, while parked in the firehouse. Any person, working on top, would not have been able to fully stand up, and there would be some difficulty for a ground observer to see if anyone was on top.

Keywords: BEAM, FIREFIGHTER, MAINTENANCE, ABDOMEN, VEHICLE, CEILING, PINNED, CAUGHT BETWEEN, TRUCK, WORK SURFACE