A Minquas fireman critically injured last March was one of several firefighters who were not wearing proper equipment while battling a Mill Creek house fire, according to a report obtained by The News Journal.

An investigation into a series of errors in battling the blaze also found that two firefighters were unfamiliar with equipment used to fight the fire, and firefighters disregarded orders to exit the burning house.

Dave Smiley suffered second- and third-degree burns when he fell through a second-floor hole during the March 14 blaze. He was wearing a helmet that didn't meet standards, didn't have proper firefighting gloves and wasn't wearing waist straps on his self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), according to a report by the Delaware State Fire School, which was asked to investigate the fire.

"None of the firefighters from Minquas that could be observed in the video were wearing the waist strap on their SCBA," the report says. "This appears to have directly led to the difficulty firefighters had in rescuing the injured firefighter. When they attempted to lift him from the hole, they were simply pulling the SCBA from his back."

Smiley, who declined comment, posted Tuesday on Facebook that he is scheduled to return to work in the Lebanon Fire Company in Pennsylvania in October, where he is a paid firefighter. He volunteers at Minquas.

The report left some surprised by its findings, including Delaware State Fire School Director Robert Newnam, whose agency prepared the study.

"It requires us to do a better review of how we handle in-service training to make sure that everybody is geared properly and to reinforce that,'' Newnam said.

The report found that many of the firefighters on that scene were wearing helmets that did not meet National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards.

Smiley's helmet was older than 30 years – NFPA says the life cycle of a helmet should be 10 years. The helmet was also missing a chin strap, an impact shell and the inner lining and ear flaps were apparently made of combustible material "because they burned completely away," the report found.

Mill Creek fire

Where was the water when a firefighter was trapped in burning house?

Shield from injured firefighter's helmet recovered from the rubble of destroyed house

The report was not meant to cast blame. Instead, it's meant to help the fire department learn from problems encountered during the fire that destroyed a three-story house in the 3200 block of Mill Creek Road in Mill Creek.

A spokesman for the Mill Creek Fire Company, which requested the report be done, said the company was taking immediate internal action on the findings but did not elaborate.

Other issues cited in the 87-page:

A disregard of orders: Many firefighters chose to remain inside the structure long after it was broadcast over the operational channel that they were to evacuate. Some firefighters even disregarded face-to-face verbal orders to evacuate.

Many firefighters chose to remain inside the structure long after it was broadcast over the operational channel that they were to evacuate. Some firefighters even disregarded face-to-face verbal orders to evacuate. Fundamental errors made by the operators of the two main units responsible for providing water . A Mill Creek firefighter stated in his interview that he was unfamiliar with the apparatus he was operating. Several people interviewed about this fire relayed past experiences when the operator of a Hockessin firefighter had difficulties.

. A Mill Creek firefighter stated in his interview that he was unfamiliar with the apparatus he was operating. Several people interviewed about this fire relayed past experiences when the operator of a Hockessin firefighter had difficulties. Confusion in designating the sides of a structure. The front of the building is usually designated as the Alpha side, with Bravo being the next side and so on going clockwise. In the Mill Creek fire, the incident commander declared the side of the structure facing Mill Creek Road as Alpha side, but other firefighters assumed another side of the burning house was Alpha. This created confusion when firefighters provided updates on sides they thought they were working.

The front of the building is usually designated as the Alpha side, with Bravo being the next side and so on going clockwise. In the Mill Creek fire, the incident commander declared the side of the structure facing Mill Creek Road as Alpha side, but other firefighters assumed another side of the burning house was Alpha. This created confusion when firefighters provided updates on sides they thought they were working. Different uniforms. One firefighter riding Elsmere’s fire truck was wearing his gear from Christiana, while a part-time firefighter on Hockessin's ambulance wore his volunteer gear from Delaware City. This could have caused confusion if they identified themselves on the radio as something other than the gear they were wearing.

One firefighter riding Elsmere’s fire truck was wearing his gear from Christiana, while a part-time firefighter on Hockessin's ambulance wore his volunteer gear from Delaware City. This could have caused confusion if they identified themselves on the radio as something other than the gear they were wearing. The nearest fire hydrant, which was about 800 feet from the blaze, was not listed on internal maps. It was added to the maps on July 24.

A News Journal investigation last April highlighted a series of errors fighting the blaze including water failing to flow from the lead fire engine and hoses unable to resupply it because they were improperly connected. The mistakes delayed the attack for 16 critical minutes, according to three high-ranking fire officials who spoke to the newspaper on the condition they not be named.

There were also questions about how much water the Mill Creek tanker was carrying when it arrived at the fire.

The report was unable to determine if the tanker was carrying its full capacity of 650 gallons of water, but listed reasons why firefighters could have run out of water coming from that tanker: the tank was not completely full; water was not utilized efficiently; or the driver shut the line down prematurely, relying on the tank level lights to determine when the engine was empty.

Contact Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299, eparra@delawareonline.com or Twitter @eparra3.