The estate of Lt. Joyce Craig, Philadelphia's first female firefighter to die while fighting a fire, has filed suit against 30 equipment manufactures alleging the devices failed to save her life.
Lawyers representing Joyce Craig's 18-year-old and 3-year-old sons filed the wrongful death suit late last week in Philadelphia's Court of Common Pleas, almost two years to the day the decorated 11-year-veteran of the department was killed.
On Dec. 9, 2014, Craig suffocated while trapped in the basement of a burning home along the 1600 block of Middelton Street in West Oak Lane. Craig, who was assigned to Engine 64 in Lawncrest, was working an overtime shift at a different engine when she perished.
Craig's estate alleges her self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), an emergency location device and thermal-protective clothing failed to protect her in the intense blaze. They allege design flaws and failure to withstand heat as points of failure.
"This was a totally foreseeable and preventable tragedy. We now know and will demonstrate at trial that Firefighter Craig never stood a chance at surviving that fire because her equipment – from her personal protective suit to her air tank system – was inadequate," David L. Kwass, an attorney representing the family, said in a statement Monday.
An inspection of Craig's equipment was carried out at the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health following her death. No word what came of that inquiry.
Kwass' Philadelphia-based firm Saltz Mongeluzzi, Barrett & Bendensky is seeking damages in excess of $50,000.
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No word yet how some of the companies named in the suit plan on responding.
