After the incident that occurred in the early morning hours of June 27, 2023 that claimed the life of FF Brice Trossbach, the Leonardtown Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. reached out to a team made up of Fire Service Professionals to conduct a third party investigation into the County’s first Fire LODD.  While a NIOSH report was conducted, the Leonardtown Volunteer Fire Department with the support of our County Leadership and surrounding volunteer departments requested this third party report to dig deeper into the incident as a whole. The purpose of this request was to gain insight from the perspective of the St. Mary’s County Volunteer Fire Service so that we may learn from the events that took place that morning and know what actions need to be taken to prevent an incident like this from occurring again.
 
The investigation team was led by Anne Arundel County Assistant Fire Chief Larry Schultz and was made up of 4 other Fire Service Professionals that Chief Schultz asked to assist him with the process.  The investigation was conducted thoroughly over the past two years and concluded just after the 2 year anniversary of the incident.  The report has since been briefed to FF Brice Trossbach’s immediate family members, our County Administration, the County Fire Chiefs Association, and our Department Membership.  
 
As a county, St. Mary’s County Volunteer Fire Service has already began addressing and working on the recommendations brought forward from the Investigation Team noted in the report.  The leadership of the St. Mary’s County Volunteer Fire Service is committed to doing everything within their power to reduce the risk of an incident of this magnitude from occurring again in our community.
 
The Leonardtown Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. has now chosen to make this report public with the hope that the entire Fire Service can learn something from this incident and prevent an incident such as this from occurring within other jurisdictions.

V/r

John Trossbach
Fire Chief
Leonardtown Volunteer Fire Department, Inc.