This happened in the USA in the Year 2010 and involved two (2) plumbers and two Volunteer (2) firefighters. We had the SINGLE entrant getting overcome by a bad atmosphere and his/her partner decides to enter to help and becomes a victim. To make matters worse, this incident involved a Volunteer FF (32-year veteran) who entered to attempt a rescue without an SCBA and attendant and was overcome and falls back into the haz atm and then arrives another Volunteer FF (6-year veteran) who also attempted a rescue without an SCBA and attendant and was overcome!
The first worker (entrant #1) who entered died on the scene.
The second worker (would-be rescuer #1) was placed in a medically-induced coma and was found to show no brain activity and taken off of life support two weeks later.
The first firefighter (would-be rescuer #2) who attempted rescue received 15 staples to close wounds on his head from falling off the ladder into the well when he attempted to self-rescue and was released from the hospital 4-days later.
The second firefighter (would-be rescuer #3) was also placed in a medically-induced coma suffering from respiratory failure and was on a ventilator for approximately 4 days. Victim #4 was released from the hospital expected to make a full recovery.
After consulting with Delaware County Health Department and IDEM, Liberty Volunteer Fire Department put 1,800 gallons of water into the well pit to flush it clean and displace any residual acid. It was confirmed through interviews of Worker #1 and Worker #2’s family members and employer that Worker #1 was a licensed plumber doing work independently as a favor for a friend. No compensation was to be given for work performed at this residence.
