Report Number: 05-0000151
Report Date: 05/27/2005

Event Description

While seated in the left rear facing jump seat of a pumper during a fire response I was attempting to don the breathing apparattus that is positioned in the seat back. I unbuckled my seat belt and reached behind me to obtain the waist strap of the SCBA. When I shifted position my turnout coat caught on the lever of the door latch. The pumper went around a right hand curve and I fell out the door. The five gallon water cooler that was stowed in that well flew out the door accros a full lane and landed on the sidewalk. The apparatus operator saw the door come open in his left side mirror and brought the unit to a gradual stop with me hanging from the door. Only the apparatus operator's alertness and prompt effective action saved me from injury and possible death. Older apparatus with those lever type door handles are still in service. I have never again allowed my seat belt to be unbuckled while riding on fire apparatus. There continues to be a problem with providing patient care in a moving ambulance but I have not suffered or observed an injury or near miss because of this.

Lesson Learned

I learned to keep my seat belt buckled at all times and to refrain from donning SCBA while the apparatus is in motion. Newer door latches are flush with the inside surface of the door and far less likely to be operated accidentally but there are many of the old lever type still in service. Seat belt monitoring with indicators visible and audible to the driver and officer will reduce the temptation to unbuckle the seat belt for any reason. Some departments have stopped mounting SCBAs in the crew compartment. Since the water cooler was ejected in this incident it calls into question the practice of carrying equipment in the crew compartment of emergency vehicles. As far as I know crash testing has never been done on SCBA brackets to test their suitability for restraining a DOT compressed gas cylinder mounted in a passenger compartment of a motor vehicle. The presence of forcible entry tools, thermal imaging cameras, multi gas meters, and other unsecured equipment in the crew compartment should be reviewed against the generally accepted practices in the transportation industry to determine if this practice holds unnecessary risk for persons riding in those crew compartments.

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