Shawnee firefighter John Glaser's death ruled accidental

SHAWNEE, Kansas - After a lengthy investigation headed by the Kansas State Fire Marshal’s Office, the May 22 death of Shawnee Firefighter John Glaser has been ruled accidental.

Glaser was among a group of  firefighters who responded to a house fire at 13408 West 75th Court about 9 p.m. on May 22nd. 9-1-1 callers reported that residents of the house were home, as well as pets. Firefighter Glazer was assigned to help in the search of the burning house and successfully rescued a dog.

He then went back into the burning house and resumed the search for possible victims by following a dry hose line that had been left in the house. Glaser’s partner soon heard him ask for help and couldn’t locate him. His partner declared a “mayday”, a search effort began, and Glaser was soon located in the master bathroom. He was rushed out of the house and resuscitation efforts began, but he could not be revived.

The investigation revealed that Glaser took off his face mask to try to clear vomit, and was then overcome by toxic fumes in the air around him. He did not have his protective face piece on when he was rescued. Investigators say Glaser collapsed because of the levels of toxic gases in his system, which caused his death. The residents of the house weren’t home when the fire broke out.

The Overland Park Fire Department also assisted in the investigation of the firefighter’s death.

You can read the complete report by clicking here .