HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - A recently obtained state toxicology report shows the Connecticut firefighter who died while battling a house fire in 2014 had alcohol and marijuana in his system.
The medical examiner’s office had determined 48-year-old Kevin Bell died of asphyxia in October 2014 because his tank ran out of air. State safety investigators found the city had failed to properly maintain and test the air tanks Bell used.
None of the investigations launched after Bell’s death mentioned whether the toxicology results had an effect on what happened during the fire.
Hartford Fire Marshal Roger Martin tells the Hartford Courant (https://cour.at/2rJ8yOl ) a seven-member panel that investigated Bell’s death and other problems within the fire department never received the toxicology results.
Bell’s family settled a lawsuit against the city for $350,000 in December.
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Information from: Hartford Courant, https://www.courant.com
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