Hank Investigates: Cause for alarm

To those who battle the smoke and flames, it's the sound that means mortal danger.

It's the haunting wail that shrieked from Ground Zero. It is louder than the sirens, louder than the rushing water and louder than the roar of the fire.

This alarm emanating from a black box hooked on a firefighter's gear sounds only when it's motionless for 30 seconds. It means a firefighter is trapped, in trouble and desperately needs help.

Chief Kenneth Willette, Concord Fire Department
"It sends a chill up your spine. Literally, it is your last line of defense."

Veteran Firefighter Rob Morrison was wearing his black box, called a PASS for "Personal Alert Safety System," when he entered this 2002 St. Louis inferno. He collapsed nine feet from an exit, but he was not found until it was too late. His PASS device was not heard.

Laura Morrison, firefighter's widow
"If it had gone off, they would have gotten him out within the first two minutes. He was so close to the door, he would still be here today."

This is the actual PASS alarm Captain Morrison was wearing. An investigator is giving it a series of tests, including a dunk in water. When he pries it open, you can see water leaks from inside the supposedly sealed circuit box. The Morrison family filed a lawsuit, charging that it was defective. His widow says that after it got wet, rescuers didn't hear an alarm.

Laura Morrison, firefighter's widow
"That's just unbelievable to me and unforgivable."

And our investigation finds Captain Morrison's death wasn't the first when a PASS device was not heard. What's more disturbing, it wasn't the last. Documents prove that since 1998, firefighters were killed in this fire in New York City, in this fire in New Jersey, in this fire in Florida, Texas and Tennessee. And as federal reports show, the black box that's supposed to scream for help was not heard.

In this Iowa fire, three alarms were not heard. Three firefighters died.

Eric Schmidt, former federal investigator
"Well, it was gut-wrenching."

Eric Schmidt, a former federal investigator, analyzed firefighter deaths for the CDC. He says that in 2000, he warned these things might be failing. But he says his supervisors ordered him to drop it.

Eric Schmidt, Former Federal Investigator
"If the fire service does not understand how firefighters die, then they are bound. It's bound to happen again."

And it did. It was not till 2005, after 15 deaths, that the CDC sent the black boxes for analysis. Here's an actual government test. They put the PASS with the blinking red light in an oven. At room temperature its shrieking the way it should. But turn the heat up to fire level, and now listen. You can barely hear it, because it got too hot.

Too hot. Too wet. Exactly the conditions for fighting a fire.

But firefighters across Massachusetts are still wearing these devices, and they know that their lives depend on them.

Chief Kenneth Willette, Concord Fire Department
"It's an essential piece of equipment. They have to have it."

Problem is that when federal investigators find a car or a computer battery or a baby crib is dangerous or doesn't work as promised, it gets recalled and yanked off the market. But, although experts warned firefighters in 2005 that the "PASS alarm signals can fail at high temperatures," we found no federal agency has jurisdiction to order a recall.

Now some wonder who's making sure these things work? And they fear that the answer is cause for alarm.

Chief Kenneth Willette, Concord Fire Department
"I can replace buildings. I can replace apparatus, [but] I can’t replace my firefighters."

New standards for these black boxes are now in the works, but even so, who'll make sure the old ones are replaced? And who will pay for it? No one knows.

As a result, firefighters in New England and millions across the U.S., who face danger to save lives every day, rely on a mechanical call for help. But it’s a call that may never come.

Laura Morrison, firefighter's widow
"More firefighters are going to die, unless something is done."

Even critics know these devices usually work and have saved hundreds of firefighters. All agree firefighters should keep wearing them, until improved devices are available. When that will be, no one knows.

Senator John Kerry is calling for a federal investigation. He's asking why government officials waited so long to take action, and why they left firefighters at risk.

(Copyright (c) 2007 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)