Historical Overview

Each year in the United States and its protectorates, approximately 100 firefighters are killed while on duty and tens of thousands are injured. Although the number of firefighter fatalities has steadily decreased over the past 20 years, the incidence of firefighter fatalities per 100,000 incidents has actually risen. Despite a downward dip in the early 1990's, the level of firefighter fatalities is back up to the same levels experienced in the 1980's.

On-Duty Firefighter Fatalities 1977-2007

  50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 Total
1977 157 157
1978 171 171
1979 126 126
1980 140 140
1981 135 135
1982 126 126
1983 113 113
1984 119 119
1985 126 126
1986 121 121
1987 131 131
1988 136 136
1989 119 119
1990 107 107
1991 108 108
1992 77 77
1993 81 81
1994 106 106
1995 103 103
1996 99 99
1997 100 100
1998 93 93
1999 113 113
2000 105 105
2001 105450 105/450 *
2002 100 100
2003 113 113
2004 119 119
2005 115 115
2006 106 106
2007 118 118

* Includes events related to September 11, 2001.

Firefighter Fatalities per 100,000 Fire Incidents 1996-2006

* Note: 2001 data excludes events related to September 11, 2001.

In the last decade, several high-profile incidents involving firefighter fatalities have brought national attention to the issue of firefighter mortality in the United States. While the attention from the national media has been fleeting, the awareness of the continued high level of fatalities has changed the fabric of the fire service and prompted many organizations and fire departments to initiate programs to protect firefighters.

Ultimately, some forces and circumstances that lead to firefighter fatalities are simply beyond human control. However, through research, study, training, improved operations, development of new technologies, the appropriate use of staffing, and other factors, it should be possible to significantly reduce the number of firefighters killed each year.

Findings from the report Firefighter Fatality Retrospective Study 1990-2000

Nature of Fatal Injury

The leading nature of fatal injuries to firefighters is heart attack (44 percent); trauma, including internal and head injuries, is the second leading type of fatal injury at 27percent. Asphyxia and burns combined account for 20 percent of fatalities. More firefighters die from trauma than from asphyxiation and burns combined. Firefighters under the age of 35 are more likely to be killed by traumatic injuries than they are to die of medical causes (e.g., heart attack, stroke). After age 35, the proportion of deaths due to traumatic injuries decreases, and the proportion of deaths due to medical causes rises steadily.

Age

Approximately 60 percent of firefighter fatalities were over the age of 40 when they were killed, and one-third were over 50. Nationally, firefighters over the age of 40 comprise 46 percent of the fire service, with those over 50 accounting for only 16 percent of firefighters. Although older firefighters possess a wealth of invaluable knowledge and experience, they are killed while on duty at a rate disproportionate to their representation in the fire service. Also, these older firefighters tend to be affiliated with volunteer agencies. About 40 percent of volunteer firefighters are over the age of 50, compared to only 25 percent of career firefighters.

Affiliation

The majority of firefighter fatalities (57 percent) were members of local or municipal volunteer fire agencies (including combination departments, which are comprised of both career and volunteer personnel). Full-time career personnel account for 33 percent of firefighter fatalities; they comprise only approximately 26 percent of the American fire service. Numerically more volunteer firefighters are killed than career personnel, yet career personnel are killed at a rate disproportionate to their representation in the fire service.

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Fatalities

In many fire departments, EMS calls account for between 50 and 80 percent of emergency call volume. These incidents result in only 3 percent of firefighter fatalities. Trauma (internal/head) accounts for the deaths of 50 percent of firefighters who were involved in EMS operations at the time of their fatal injury; another 38 percent involved in EMS operations died from heart attacks.

Type of Duty

Of those firefighters killed while en route to an incident, 85 percent were volunteers. For firefighters killed performing in-station duties, 69 percent were career personnel; the majority of those deaths were the result of heart attacks. These variations can be attributed to differences between career and volunteer agencies. Generally, unless they are on a call or other fire department business, career personnel are required to be in the fire station for the duration of their shift, which is generally between 10 and 24 hours long. As a result, volunteers are more likely than career firefighters to die while responding.

Motor Vehicle Collisions (MVCs)

Since 1984, MVCs have accounted for between 20 and 25 percent of firefighter fatalities annually. One quarter of firefighters who died in MVCs were killed in private/personally owned vehicles (POVs). Following POVs, the apparatus most often involved in fatal collisions were tankers, engines/pumpers, and airplanes. More firefighters are killed in tanker collisions than in engines and ladders combined.

About 27 percent of fatalities killed in MVCs were ejected from the vehicle at the time of the collision; only 21 percent of firefighters were reportedly wearing their seatbelts prior to the collision.

Most volunteer departments do not require personnel to stand by in the fire station; members are allowed to respond directly to incidents from their homes or workplaces, often in their POVs. As a result, volunteers are more likely than career firefighters to be killed in POV collisions. Moreover, they are more likely to be involved in collisions involving tankers, which are predominantly used in rural areas without hydrants or other readily available sources of water. Such areas are almost exclusively protected by volunteer fire departments.

Training

In the last decade, approximately 6 percent of firefighter fatalities occurred during training activities, a larger proportion than in the previous decade. Over time, the leading type of training activity resulting in fatalities has remained physical fitness, followed by equipment/apparatus drills and live fire exercises.

Multiple Firefighter Fatality Incidents

Between 1990 and 2000, 8 percent of fatal incidents involved the death of more than one firefighter; these incidents accounted for 18 percent of firefighter fatalities. About 14 percent of firefighters were killed in incidents that resulted in the deaths of two or three firefighters. Incidents involving the death of more than four firefighters are rare, and accounted for only 3 percent of fatalities. These findings represent an increase from an earlier USFA study that found that between 1982 and 1991, only 4 percent of incidents involved the death of more than one firefighter; those incidents accounted for 13 percent of firefighter fatalities. Approximately 90 percent of firefighters killed in multiple-fatality incidents die of traumatic injuries. In contrast, only 37 percent of those killed in single-fatality incidents die from traumatic injuries.