Incident Name:
Date: 07/15/1997
Personnel: Malcom A Rovero, II
Age: 34
Agency/Organization: Estero Fire Protection and Rescue Service District, Estero, FL
Position: firefighter
Summary: Firefighter Rovero died from apparent cardiac and respiratory arrest at the scene of a ten-acre brush fire. The NFPA listed his cause of death as cardiac and respiratory arrest.
Maps
Estero Fire Protection and Rescue Service District, Estero, FL
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Reports, Documentation, Lessons Learned
- Excerpt from Protective Clothing for Wildland Fire Suppression …Protective Clothing for Wildland Fire Suppression
The article that this was transcribed from is no longer online — was at tinhelmet.com under archives_files/mauney_wildland.pdf
The following portion was apparently a MTDC review of deaths of firefighters (1985-1999) wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) not designed for wildland fire conditions.
The following has info on firefighters that died… Ch 8 (pp 26-27) heart attack and heat stroke fatalities.
“The following individual firefighter fatality information was obtained from NFPA, NIOSH, and OSHA investigation reports as well as personal interviews with department personnel.”
6.1 East Coast Fatalities
(snip)
Malcolm Rovero, a firefighter with the Estero Fire Protection and Rescue District, FL, died on July 15, 1997. He was fighting a ten-acre brush fire. The NFPA listed his cause of death as cardiac and respiratory arrest. The PIO for his department would not discuss the incident due to ongoing litigation. When asked about Fire Fighter Rovero’s PPE, he said, “It was structural gear, we did not have wildland gear at that time…we do now.” The OSHA Investigation summary states, “When he was located, he was found lying on the ground in full bunker gear well clear of the fire zone.”
- MTDC: 1993 – Components of Wildland Fire Personal Protective Equiipment (PPE)
- Malcolm Rovero’s name, death date and brief bio are included in the USFA Firefighter Fatality Retrospective Study, published April 2002 (2,888 K pdf)
- USFA Memorial Database: Malcolm A Rovero II
- Florida Death Index: Malcolm Rovero
- US Social Security Death ndex: Malcolm Rovero
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