One of the most severe consequences of this incident was severe
post incident stress, which particularly affected many of the individuals who
were involved in assisting the injured firefighters. The victims could not
help themselves and the rescuers were frustrated in their attempts to help
them.
All of the personnel in the fire area were burned and some were in
very critical condition. The sodium that had impregnated their protective
clothing continued to bum the injured members as others tried to help
them. The most common burn treatment, applying cool water, would only
have made their injuries more severe.
Additional stress was created by the realization that the injured
members had not been adequately protected by their protective clothing.
Personnel who had not previously encountered molten metal bums did not
appreciate the severity of the burns or the inadequacy of structural
protective clothing to prevent them.
Immediate counseling assistance was provided by the regional
traumatic incident response team and several individuals have been
referred for further treatment.
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