Firefighter line-of-duty death rate rose slightly in 1984
Dispatches
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) reports that the number of United States firefighter deaths occurring in the line of duty increased slightly in 1984, after a period of steady decline.
According to the NFPA report, there were 117 firefighter deaths (47 career; 70 volunteer) in the line of duty in 1984, up from 110 in 1983. But, the report notes that this 6.4% increase might be affected by a 10-death oil refinery explosion and fire. The report also says that 12 of these 117 firefighters died in incendiary or suspicious fires.
The most common causes of life losses for on-duty firefighters in 1984 were;
- Stress resulting in heart attack or internal trauma;
- Being struck or contacted by an object;
- Being caught or trapped;
- Falls;
- Fire product exposure;
- Structural collapse and chemical exposure.
Although heart attacks were still the leading cause of firefighter deaths in 1984, the overall number of job-related coronaries decreased for the first time in 10 years.
A related survey conducted by the Occupational Health and Safety Department of the International Association of Fire Fighters measured the number and types of firefighter injuries and deaths occurring between 1973-1982.
According to the Department Director Richard M. Duffy, the survey found that annually there were an average of 78 line-of-duty deaths, 89 occupational disease deaths, 45,530 injuries, and 1,112 forced retirements due to occupationally induced diseases or injuries.
“Firefighter line-of-duty fatalities have been more than double those of police officers during this 10-year period and also rank above such other publicized hazardous occupations in the private sector, such as mining and construction,” Duffy said.
The survey also stated that 74% of firefighter injuries during this 10-year period occurred at the emergency scene and that “more than 40% of all firefighters can expect to be injured at least once during the course of a year.”
Like the NFPA report, Duffy’s group found that heart disease and cancer were the leading causes of occupational-related deaths.
