{"id":804157,"date":"2020-02-13T14:59:02","date_gmt":"2020-02-13T21:59:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/?p=378932"},"modified":"2020-02-14T06:54:20","modified_gmt":"2020-02-14T13:54:20","slug":"summit-fire-seeks-better-guidelines-in-aftermath-of-firefighter-ken-jones-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/summit-fire-seeks-better-guidelines-in-aftermath-of-firefighter-ken-jones-death\/","title":{"rendered":"Summit Fire seeks better guidelines in aftermath of firefighter Ken Jones\u2019 death"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Ken Jones and a crew from the Copper Mountain fire station were the first to respond to the condo fire early Dec. 7. <\/strong>
Steven Josephson \/ sjosephson@summitdaily.com<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

FRISCO \u2014 It\u2019s been more than two months since Summit Fire & EMS firefighter Ken Jones fell to his death<\/a> while fighting a blaze in Copper Mountain, though the feelings of grief are still fresh for his second family at the fire department.<\/p>\n

Jones\u2019 picture still stands on a table in the entranceway of Summit Fire\u2019s administration building in Frisco \u2014 the first thing visitors see on their way into the building each morning. Inside, firefighters and staff go about their business as usual, though many now bear a special \u201cKJ\u201d button pinned to their jackets or shirts as a reminder of his sacrifice. And while there has been a subtle shift back to relative normalcy, at least as far as the job is concerned, the memories of Jones still seem to permeate daily conversations among those who knew him.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur crews are professionals,\u201d Summit Fire spokesperson Steve Lipsher said. \u201cWhether it was the next day or the next week, whenever they came back on duty, they were doing their jobs as they\u2019re supposed to be done \u2014 saving lives, doing all the things they\u2019ve been trained to do forever, as difficult and emotionally raw as things were at the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs time has passed, certainly some of that rawness has faded. But people still talk. People are still reminding each other daily about safety, and they\u2019re wearing their Ken Jones buttons. This is not something that will fade from memory. Things do return to normal, but you also never forget.\u201d<\/p>\n

For officials with Summit Fire, remembering is only half the battle. As the organization continues to seek answers into how Jones\u2019 tragic fall occurred and what steps could have been taken to prevent it, making sure lessons are learned will put minds at ease.<\/p>\n

Looking back at the accident<\/strong><\/p>\n

New details have emerged into the circumstances surrounding Jones\u2019 death over recent weeks, following an internal investigation by Summit Fire that\u2019s already providing insight into future changes coming to the department\u2019s standard-operating guidelines.<\/p>\n

At about 2 a.m. Dec. 7, a four-person crew arrived at the Bridge End condominium building in Copper Mountain. The crew quickly evacuated the building and did a \u201chot lap\u201d around the structure to look for flames and assess the situation.<\/p>\n

According to Chief Jeff Berino, a chimney fire originated from deep inside the building and wasn\u2019t easily accessible to firefighters. The complex has three chimney chases on the roof \u2014 essentially structures that bring together smaller chimneys and direct smoke for about eight fireplaces in units below.<\/p>\n

After the fire, the department asked the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to investigate the cause of the blaze. According to the Bureau\u2019s investigation, there were no spark arrestors on the chimneys, just 6-to-8-inch holes that lead back down to fireplaces. Sparks from one fireplace apparently hit a metal chimney cap and fell back down, causing a fire inside the chimney chase.<\/p>\n

Summit Fire emphasized the Bridge End management team wasn\u2019t at fault. The structure met building code standards during construction in the 1970s, but more restrictive chimney safety standards are now required under current codes to prevent such accidents.<\/p>\n

Adding to the difficulty was the fire\u2019s location on the roof, which was inaccessible to the fire engine.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
Fire damage can be seen on the roof of the Bridge End condos, 860 Copper Road, on Dec. 7 near the base of Copper Mountain Resort.<\/strong>
Steven Josephson \/ sjosephson@summitdaily.com<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t a fire where you can kick in a door, and it was right there,\u201d Berino said. \u201cIt was in a very hard to get to location. We were hampered. Our ladder truck couldn\u2019t reach where the fire was. \u2026 As a chief, I\u2019d love to say nobody goes on a roof anymore. Firefighters fall through, or in our case, fall off. They\u2019re extremely hazardous. But firefighting will never be easy or completely safe. We have to access roofs when completely necessary. In this case it was.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones was assigned to find viable roof access to the chimney chase. With the help of building management, he located a hatch to the roof and went out alone on the east side of the building, across the roof from the western most chase that was on fire. He requested a fire extinguisher and a hose line, and he began making his way to the blaze as soon as he got the extinguisher. In addition to the extinguisher, Jones also was carrying an axe and 30-plus pounds of regular gear. Given the weather and the time of night, along with subsequent drone footage that showed Jones\u2019 footsteps on the roof the next day, Berino said it\u2019s likely he slipped on an unseen sheet of ice.<\/p>\n

Jones fell about 35 feet onto a lower roof of the structure. An immediate rescue operation was launched, and emergency medical care was administered, though he\u2019s believed to have died on impact due to \u201cmultiple nonsurvivable traumatic injuries,\u201d according to Berino.<\/p>\n

Another fire crew arrived shortly thereafter and was able to punch its way through a skylight in the roof to put out the fire. Ultimately, the blaze was confined to one condo unit and the chimney chase. Summit Fire crews were sent home, and crews from the Red, White & Blue Fire Protection District and Eagle County stepped in to take over operations.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
A Summit Fire & EMS engine with a black stripe over the logo in remembrance of fallen firefighter Ken Jones.<\/strong>
Sawyer D\u2019Argonne \/ sdargonne@summitdaily.com<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Lessons learned<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to Summit Fire\u2019s internal investigation into the incident, none of the department\u2019s standard-operating guidelines were violated during the operation, and Berino noted it\u2019s extremely unlikely Jones acted negligently in any way. Witnesses on scene reported seeing Jones crouched on the roof and taking his time.<\/p>\n

\u201cKen did not violate any written standard-operating guidelines, nor can we determine he acted in any reckless manner,\u201d Berino said. \u201cHe was very methodical. He didn\u2019t have a cavalier attitude. Some of our younger guys we need to temper a bit. \u2026 We can never guess what was going through his mind, but Ken had a reason for doing what he was doing. He was an analytical person and a thinker.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the accident, Summit Fire reached out to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to request another third-party investigation. The group has investigated about 40% of all American firefighter deaths since 1998 and is expected to publish a report on the incident sometime later this year in hopes of identifying any operational failures as well as pushing new information and recommendations to fire departments across the country.<\/p>\n

Internally, Summit Fire is already working to update its standard-operating guidelines to better address cases like Jones\u2019. Berino said that while the department has guidelines for operating on high or midrise buildings, it doesn\u2019t have anything in the books for general roof operations. Summit Fire is working with the national safety institute to develop new guidelines, which could include things like tethers or requiring partners in those situations, among other possibilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur lesson learned is we\u2019re going to develop a roof (standard-operating guideline),\u201d Berino said. \u201cIt\u2019s particularly difficult because one size doesn\u2019t fit all. Some roofs are flat or have steep pitches, and there are different types of construction with shakes, asphalt or metal. It\u2019s not as easy as it sounds, and every fire is different. We\u2019ll endeavor to come up with something that\u2019s applicable for us in this weather and that could cover all of these scenarios.\u201d<\/p>\n

Berino also said the department has identified a need to improve its \u201ccrew resource management,\u201d essentially more training to enhance the way in which firefighters work together to identify hazards in the field, point them out to one another and overcome them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe big thing is that while there were no violations, clearly this is something that we wish had never happened and that we want to ensure never happens again,\u201d Lipsher said.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
The funeral procession for fallen Summit firefighter Ken Jones in Littleton on Dec. 13.<\/strong>
Sawyer D\u2019Argonne \/ sdargonne@summitdaily.com<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Continuing to heal<\/strong><\/p>\n

For firefighters and staff at Summit Fire & EMS, the healing process is ongoing.<\/p>\n

For those who were close to Jones, the knowledge that his family is being taken care of financially helps to ease the burden. In addition to life insurance, workers\u2019 compensation and federal public safety officers benefit programs, community members and organizations around the country have stepped up to lend their support. The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation has agreed to pay off the mortgage on the Jones family\u2019s home, and The Summit Foundation helped to raise more than $70,000<\/a> in additional funds. And the donations are still coming in. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve written almost 400 thank-you notes,\u201d Berino said. \u201cWe\u2019re still getting cards and donations. It was extremely difficult for me to write all those, but I felt they needed to be acknowledged. \u2026 I just want to thank everyone for the love and support from our community<\/a> and across the country. While we were in that fog, it just meant so much.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several firefighters and their significant others also have taken the opportunity to work with Building Warriors, a nonprofit group that provides counseling and support to emergency responders and their families who have faced traumatic experiences.<\/p>\n

Though, for most, the best therapy is getting back to the job and committing themselves to helping the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter the accident, we told our crews, \u2018You can take off as much time as you need to get your head in the game,\u2019\u201d Berino said. \u201cAfter a set, just two days off, they all came back. And I said, \u2018why?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cThey told me that getting out there and helping the community is what\u2019s helping them \u2014 that helping people gave them a way to get back to their lives and to get their heads on right instead of sitting at home. They wanted to get back to their second family.\u201d<\/p>\n

via:: Summit Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ken Jones and a crew from the Copper Mountain fire station were the first to respond to the condo fire early Dec. 7. Steven Josephson \/ sjosephson@summitdaily.com FRISCO \u2014 It\u2019s been more than two months since Summit Fire & EMS firefighter Ken Jones fell to his death while fighting a blaze in Copper Mountain, though […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-804157","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-24 18:14:52","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSMT The Mountain","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=804157"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804157\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":804183,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804157\/revisions\/804183"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=804157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=804157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=804157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}