ShawneeDispatch.com

The investigation into the May 22 fire that led to the death of Firefighter John Glaser has been completed, and Glaser’s death has been determined accidental, the Shawnee Fire Department announced today.

Glaser died while searching a resident reported to be inside a burning house. The Fire Department today released a report filed by the Eastern Kansas Multi-County Fire Investigation Task Force, which investigated the origin and cause of the fire, as well as investigating the line-of-duty death. The report determined both the fire’s cause and Glaser’s death to be accidental.

Glaser succumbed to toxic gases and a lack of adequate oxygen, resulting in his death, the report said.

Firefighters arrived about 8:58 p.m. May 22 at 13408 W. 75th Ct., to find flames coming from a rear garage in the home’s basement. They had been told the homeowners and pets were in the home.

The report said when entering the home through the front door, Glaser was in the front of the search line. The search crew took a dry hose line and moved down the hallway on the main level, locating a dog in a utility room and bringing it outside.

They then re-entered the home, following the hose to look for more victims. At some point, Glaser became separated from his search partner, who heard him ask for help. A mayday call went out, and firefighters soon located Glaser in the master bathroom, which is located just above the entrance to the basement garage.

Glaser had vomited in his face piece, causing him to try to fix the issue. He removed his gloves, helmet and face piece, trying to clear the vomit from the nose cup on his face piece. The report stated Glaser became disoriented and overcome by the products of combustion in the air around him before he could get his face mask back in place, and he collapsed due to the levels of toxins in his system.

Glaser was brought out of the structure and medical personnel began resuscitation efforts, but he was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Glaser’s Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus appeared to be in working order and still had two-thirds of its air remaining, though the report noted that the system and air is being sent for further testing.

The cause of Glaser’s illness was attributed to a number of factors. His crew had provided mutual aid to Overland Park Fire Department earlier in the day and had run three calls there before returning to its home station in Shawnee. The crew also had several calls in Shawnee that day, including a drowning, and Glaser may have been additionally fatigued from the exertion of the search crew’s first entry into the burning home.

He also had eaten two large meals during the day — a barbecue lunch in Overland Park, and then a meal of hamburgers and hotdogs about 5 p.m. at Shawnee Station 71. The report said an autopsy showed Glaser still had a large amount of food in his stomach.

John Mattox, Shawnee fire marshal, said the cause of the fire was determined to be from one of several appliances on a shelf in the basement garage and is considered accidental.

Mattox said the Shawnee Fire Department had no plans to change any fire response procedural policies in response to the report at this time. He said a report from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, a division of the Centers for Disease Control that investigates all line-of-duty firefighter deaths, may have suggestions for operational changes.

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