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BALTIMORE (AP) - Mistakes and safety violations played a role in the death of a Baltimore firefighter in the line of duty last fall.
That's according to a preliminary investigative report obtained by The (Baltimore) Sun.
Allan Roberts was killed last October while fighting a fire at a rowhome in east Baltimore. The report says firefighters were spraying water on the flames in the back of the home when Roberts and others went in through the front.
The fire turned the water into steam, increasing the heat inside the building. The report says it's "unacceptable and dangerous" to use hoses to try to extinguish a fire from the exterior while firefighters are attacking it inside.
It says Roberts struggled to get air flowing from his oxygen tank and pulled his mask off. He collapsed unconscious and later died.
