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Paul Kelly Jolliff

Private

Private Jolliff was engaged in dive rescue training to become certified as a rescue diver. This was the last day of a 21-day training curriculum.

He was engaged in an evolution that required him to descend to approximately 60 feet and retrieve a concrete block. The purpose of the exercise was to give the students experience with using tools to retrieve a heavy item in zero visibility and bring that item to the surface. The students used a rope tied to a 3-pound weight on the bottom as an ascent/descent line.

Visibility at the bottom was very poor. At some point, Private Jolliff and his partner were attaching ropes to the block as they had been instructed. Private Jolliff experienced some difficulty and lost contact with his partner. The partner went to the surface to get help. A number of other divers joined the search for Private Jolliff. He was found below the surface entangled in ropes. Private Jolliff was brought to the surface and then brought to shore. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The cause of death was listed as drowning with barotraumas (gas expansion from the blood on ascent). The Indianapolis Fire Department suffered another rescue diver training death in 2000 when Firefighter Warren Smith died.

Indianapolis Fire Department web site – www.indygov.org/ifd/newindex.htm

photo of the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial
Paul Kelly Jolliff was honored on the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Emmitsburg, Maryland and was included in the USFA’s annual report Firefighter Fatalities in the United States.

Department information

Indianapolis Fire Department
555 N. New Jersey St.
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204

Chief: Louis A. Dezelan

View NIOSH Report

Age: 37
Rank: Private
Classification: Career
Incident date: June 14, 2002 12:15
Date of death: June 14, 2002
Cause of fatal injury: Caught or Trapped
Nature of fatal injury: Drowning
Activity type: Other
Emergency duty: No
Duty type: Training
Fixed property use: Outdoor Property

Last updated: May 30, 2018