FIREFIGHTER'S DEATH ACCIDENTAL JAIME FOSTER, 25, WAS 1ST LAFD FEMALE TO DIE IN LINE OF DUTY.

Byline: Dan Laidman Staff Writer

The death of the Los Angeles rookie firefighter who fell off the back of a hook-and-ladder truck last year was accidental, according to a final department report released Tuesday.

The conclusion backs up preliminary findings late last year into the death of Jaime Foster, 25, the first female to die in the line of duty in the 118-year history of the Fire Department.

Foster, who had just helped her crew extinguish a blaze in a nearby house, fell beneath the fire engine as it backed across a residential street.

The lengthy report says investigators could not determine an ``exact direct cause'' for Foster's death. However, the report cites as an ``indirect cause'' the fact that she was not wearing a safety strap as she stood on the tailboard of the engine as it backed up.

While Fire Department policy calls for the straps to be used by firefighters carrying out such ``tailboard safety'' duties, the report says they often are not used. Training for recruits does not include discussion of using the safety strap, the probe found.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health issued a report in May citing Foster's death and calling for fire departments across the country to stop placing firefighters on truck tailboards.

It remains unclear whether training practices or other policies will change as a result of the final report. Fire Department officials did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday.

Reached by phone, Foster's mother also declined comment.

A Southern California native who was captain of the volleyball team at College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita, Foster joined the Fire Department in February 2004. She was assigned to a fire station in Reseda.

According to the report, Foster's first performance evaluation called her very safety-conscious.

Dan Laidman, [phone]

dan.laidman(at)dailynews.com