Firefighters often have some of the toughest and most dangerous jobs out of any profession, and while they are putting out fires across the country each and every day without incident, the unfortunate truth is that sometimes not everyone makes it out of the fire okay. That’s what happened recently in a Cincinnati fire that claimed the life of one firefighter.
The firefighter, Daryl Gordon, had been fighting fires for almost three decades. Last month, he was part of a response to a building fire in Cincinnati. He was searching for people who were still in the building during the fire when he fell down an elevator shaft. It’s unclear, but likely, his vision was obscured by smoke from the fire. Gordon was taken to a hospital where he passed away the next morning.
Two other firefighters who responded to the scene were also injured, but they have since been released and are okay. As for the residents of the building, all of them made it out alive and relatively unscathed. The fire department is calling Gordon a hero, and they commend him for the bravery he showed in trying to ensure everyone made it out of the building alive.
While it’s not immediately clear how the building fire started in the first place, more is sure to be uncovered soon. The incident is currently under investigation, with authorities hoping to determine the exact cause of the fire. With more information about how it started, there is always hope that similar fires can be prevented in the future.
If you’re an attorney representing the interests of a firefighter who was killed or injured fighting a fire, or if you are an attorney representing a building owner being sued by an attorney representing an injured firefighter, contact the experts at John Michael Agosti & Associates, Inc. for consulting and expert witness services in Fire Department related cases.
At Agosti & Associates we provide consulting and expert witness services in the areas of Fire/Explosion Investigations; Fire and Building Codes; and Fire Department Operations and Procedures.
