State Labor Dept.: FDNY Not At Fault In Trainee's Death

JAMEL SEARS: State clears FDNY in his death.

The state Labor Department has found that the Fire Department did not violate occupational safety and health codes in its Fire Academy training when a Probationary Firefighter collapsed and died during a simulation exercise.

Probationary Firefighter Jamel Sears collapsed and subsequently died Nov. 11 during a timed exercise at the Fire Academy on Randall's Island. Mr. Sears's widow, with the support of the Vulcan Society of black firefighters, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city, claiming that timed fire drills for the latest academy class were instituted to weed out minority candidates.

'Was Fit to Begin Training'

A report by the DOL's Division of Public Employee Safety and Health cited the Medical Examiner's determination that the cause of death of Mr. Sears, an African-American, was a mixture of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, sickle cell hemoglobinopathy and dehydration.

"The results of FDNY's medical test revealed that PFF Sears had no medical abnormalities and was within the acceptable limits to begin training at the academy," the report stated.

Vulcan Society President John Coombs had argued that the timed exercises, which he claimed were more intense then those in past Fire Academy classes, were first instituted for Mr. Sears's class, which was the most racially diverse in the department's history. Mr. Coombs has claimed that this came about as a way to prompt a high dropout rate among minority cadets.

Mr. Sears's widow, Sherita, is a Police Officer assigned to the 41st Precinct in The Bronx who previously served in the Department of Correction. She is reportedly asking for $10 million in damages in her wrongful death lawsuit.