Federal report: Crew mistakes contributed to Daryl Gordon's death
NIOSH report cites communication errors, response delays

Federal investigators released new information about the death of a Cincinnati firefighter.
Daryl Gordon died March 26, 2015, after he fell down an elevator shaft while battling an apartment fire in Madisonville.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health report cited several contributing factors made by firefighters that led to Gordon바카라 게임 웹사이트s death.
Under contributing factors, it lists:
- Breakdown in crew integrity
- Unsecured and unguarded elevator hoistway door
- Poor visibility due to moderate smoke conditions
- Delay in getting water onto the fire burning in a second-floor apartment
- Acting officers in several key positions
- No standpipe or sprinkler system withing the residential apartment building
In response, Local 48 Fire Fighters Union President Matt Alter said he cannot simply answer 'yes or no' in regards to mistakes.
"Every fire is different, every fire is unique," Alter said.
"Multiple, multiple victims, hanging off balconies, screaming for help, you know this large structure, all these things come into play...they used their experience and they used quite honestly what they had at the time being to go in and initiate fighting this fire."
For Alter, Gordon's death was directly related to the fifth floor elevator door.
"Had the elevator door operated the way it was supposed to and not malfunctioned, we wouldn't be sitting here today, we wouldn't," Alter said. "Daryl wouldn't have lost his life."
The report said another firefighter had written on the door, "Do Not Enter, Open Shaft", but there is no way of knowing if Gordon saw it. Visibility was down to 5 feet when Gordon stepped in, falling 24 feet to his death.
The report also highlights a delay in getting water on the fire, taking 20 minutes from the time firefighters arrived on scene.
In response, Alter told 바카라게임 the fire hose caught on a stair tread.
"This building was very unique in that it had an open stairwell design where the stair tread didn't go all the way to the side, hose got caught up in the stairwell, something as simple as that," Alter said.
"Those are things that we are going to make sure that we train on, that that will never happen again or we do whatever is possible in our power to ensure that doesn't happen."
These findings come barely a month after Cincinnati released its own report on Gordon's death.
The report compiled by the Cincinnati Fire Department called for more training and better use of emergency radios, among other things.
Read CFD's full report .