Probe: Missteps factor in 2 Kansas City firefighters' deaths


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The deaths of two Kansas City, Missouri, firefighters during a wall collapse last year was partly due to the department's culture of aggressive fire suppression, the department concluded in an internal report released Tuesday.

The 71-page report also cites a loose management style as possible factors in the October 2015 deaths of firefighter John Mesh and ladder truck driver Larry Leggio, The Kansas City Star (http://bit.ly/1s8gF6X ) reported. Two other firefighters were seriously injured but survived.

The firefighters were in an alley to protect a fire engine when a wall collapsed, killing 43-year-old Leggio and 39-year-old Mesh, the report said. The men were within feet of the wall roughly six minutes after commanders ordered a collapse zone established around the unstable, three-story apartment and commercial building, meaning those close to the burning building were supposed to retreat.

Industry standards suggest that all fire personnel immediately exit a collapse zone — typically an area 1½ times the building's height — once one is ordered, unless remaining there is an attempt to save someone's life. That wasn't the case in this matter, given that the building's occupants had been evacuated.

Kansas City fire officials have said the firefighters in the alley were trying to protect a grocery.

The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health is independently investigating.

Thu Hong Nguyen, who operated a nail salon in the building, is charged with arson and two counts of second-degree murder in the blaze. She has pleaded not guilty.

While citing the department's aggressive fire attack as a strength, the report found that "cultural norms that work against the safety of firefighters are and can potentially be disastrous and should not be tolerated."

___

Information from: The Kansas City Star, http://www.kcstar.com

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Most recent U.S. stories

Related topics

U.S.
The Associated Press

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast