Death Rate Rises
Fire fighting, with a death rate of 68 per 100,000, continues as America’s most hazardous occupation, according to the 1979 death and injury survey of the International Association of Fire Fighters. The rate was one above the 1978 rate.
The annual survey, based on figures from 930 fire departments, showed that in these departments, there were 70 line-of-duty deaths, 77 occupational disease deaths, 686 forced retirements and 45,070 on-the-job injuries in 1979.
The 1979 death rate for fire fighters compared with 56 per 100,000 for miners, the next most hazardous profession, and 35 per 100,000 for police. The national average for all industries was 13 per 100,000.
