Webinar - Preventing Fatalities and Serious Injuries from Fires and Explosions in Silos
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On May 15, 2026, two volunteer firefighters died following an explosion of an oxygen-limiting silo that occurred at a lumber mill. The incident was investigated by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP) so that the fire service can learn from this incident and prevent future tragedies. In the first part of this presentation, senior investigator Wesley R. Attwood will share the incident details, contributing factors that led to the fatalities, and prevention actions to help fire departments prevent future incidents involving silo fire response. In the second part of the presentation, Eric Rickenbach and Travis Martin of RescueTechs, LLC will provide a discussion of initial strategy and tactics fire departments can use for silo fire response.
Wesley R. Attwood
Dr. Wesley R. Attwood is a Public Health Advisor with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s (NIOSH) Public Safety Sector program. The program investigates occupational injury, illness, and fatalities among fire service, wildland firefighting, emergency medical services, law enforcement, and corrections workers. During the pandemic, Dr. Attwood has been assigned to the CDC’s Vaccine Task Force, Essential Workers Team, working directly with public safety sector stakeholders.
Travis Martin
Travis Martin is a career firefighter-paramedic with more than 25 years of experience across urban, suburban, and rural fire service environments. He serves as a lieutenant on Rescue 1 with the City of Reading, Pennsylvania, and as lead instructor for the Reading Fire Academy. He is also a member and current captain of the Keystone Fire Company of Rehrersburg. For more than 20 years, he has taught agricultural rescue and collaborated with multiple organizations in that specialty area. Martin is a co-owner of RescueTechs, LLC, where he serves as an instructor and leads curriculum development. For more than 15 years, he has served as a subject-matter expert on silo fires throughout the United States and Canada.
Eric J. Rickenbach
Eric J. Rickenbach is the owner of RescueTechs LLC, a specialty fire and rescue training business based in southcentral PA. He serves as the lead instructor for silo fire and emergency response training. In addition to teaching, Eric has provided emergency consulting services for active silo incidents for over 20 years.
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