Quincy, Mass. – The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has released its analysis of on-duty firefighter deaths for the year 2000, in which there were 102 on-duty firefighter deaths, representing a decrease of 10 deaths from 1999.
Forty of the deaths (39 percent) were from heart attacks. According to the NFPA, on-duty heart attack deaths are usually attributed to overexertion or stress. The stress-related deaths in 2000 also included two caused by strokes, one by an aneurysm, and one from a seizure. Eleven of the 40 who suffered fatal heart attacks were known to have had prior heart problems, including previous heart attacks or bypass surgery.
Other causes of death were as follows:
o Twenty-one firefighters were killed in motor vehicle crashes, almost half of them while the victims were responding to emergency calls.
o Thirteen firefighters died of smoke inhalation or burns at fires.
o Twelve died of traumatic injuries resulting from falls or from being struck by vehicles or other objects.
In 2000, three firefighters were murdered while on duty.
The firefighters’ affiliations were as follows: volunteer firefighters, 57; career firefighters, 28; state forestry agency employees. 6; federal forestry agency employees, 3; contractors to federal or state forestry agencies, 3; members of a state inmate forestry crew, 2; civilian employee of the military, 1; military firefighter, 1; and member of an industrial fire department, 1.
The fatalities occurred while the fighters were engaged in the following types of duties: fireground, 38%; responding to or returning from alarms, 24%; other on-duty responsibilities, 18%; training, 14%; and nonfire emergencies, 7%.
Of the 39 fireground deaths, 14 were caused by heart attacks, 8 by asphyxiation, 7 by internal trauma, 5 by burns, 2 by electrocution, 2 by pneumonia following traumatic injuries, and 1 by stroke.
One-fourth of the career firefighters who died were between the ages of 41 and 45. More than a third of the volunteer firefighters who died were over the age of 60.
Nine firefighter deaths were related to arson fires. Six firefighters died as a result of false alarms; three were fatally assaulted, and another was accidentally shot during SWAT training.
NFPA President and CEO George D. Miller notes that there is much to be learned about the role of cardiovascular illness in these deaths and the steps the fire service can take collectively to reduce such deaths.
