On March 4, 2012, a Wisconsin police officer, who was also the fire chief of a neighboring community, reported a fire in a theater of operations which ultimately led to the death of one of its own firefighters (Wertman, 2012). First aid to the fire was provided by local volunteer firefighters as well as volunteer firefighters from a neighboring community. The theater consisted of a large building with a lattice roof, from which heavy smoke was visible when fire crews arrived (Wertman, 2012). The local fire department established its operations at the front of the theater while the second fire department from the neighboring community established its operations at the rear of the building (Wertman, 2012). The first arriving department eventually transitioned from an offensive fire attack to a defensive attack; however, the second arriving department continued to resort to an offensive attack in an attempt to control the fire (Wertman, 2012). The two individual departments each established their own separate command and neither maintained effective radio communication with the other (Wertman, 2012). The truss roof eventually collapsed, trapping three firefighters from the second arriving department, an accident that, when completed, claimed the life of one of the trapped firefighters (Wertman, 2012). As is often the case with tragic accidents like this, indicators existed but were ignored regarding the potential for a serious accident. A number of factors in this incident contributed to the injuries and death of a firefighter. Two opposing operations took place in this incident because no incident command system or incident action plan was established to ensure that all fire personnel were......at middle of paper......tif as shown. Failure to use proven safety measures as well as understand and observe the construction features of the building can easily lead to an accident similar to the Wisconsin Theater Fire. ReferencesPindelski, J. (2010). Do you know where they are? The dangers of bowstring truss roofing [entire issue]. Health and Safety of Fire and Emergency Services Personnel, 21 (5). Retrieved from http://www.fdsoa.org/news/getpdf.htm?file=/www/docs/fdsoa/pdfs/membersonly/articles/past_articles/2010_05_newsletter.pdfSmith, JP (2012). Strategic and Tactical Considerations on the Fireground (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Prentice Hall. Wertman, S.C. (2012). Volunteer Lieutenant Killed, Two Firefighters Injured After Rope Roof Collapses During Wisconsin Theater Fire (F2012-08). Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/fire/pdfs/face201208.pdf