Bituminous Insurance Companies

Significant Increase in Firefighter Fatalities in 2007

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recently completed a study of firefighter fatalities in the United States during 2007. The report, Firefighter Fatalities in the United States – 2007, identifies the leading cause of firefighter deaths as overexertion or stress-related disorders.

During 2007, 102 firefighters died while on duty, representing a significant increase from the 89 deaths in 2006 and the 87 deaths in 2005. As noted by NFPA, this “returns to the long-term trend of close to 100 on-duty deaths annually.” Of the 102 deaths, 40 percent were classified as heart attacks. While a high percentage of the deaths (35%) occurred during fireground operations, the second highest number of deaths, 29 percent, occurred while responding to and returning from alarms. The study also found that in 2007, “seventeen of the 32 firefighter deaths at structure fires occurred in residential properties. Fires in single-family dwellings killed 13 firefighters, and fires in apartment buildings killed four firefighters.”

The full report can be downloaded from the NFPA Web site at www.nfpa.org.

In a related matter, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conducts independent investigations of firefighter line-of-duty deaths. Each year, an average of 105 firefighters die in the line of duty and about half of these are due to cardiovascular disease. In fact, sudden cardiac death is the most common cause of on-duty firefighter fatalities. NIOSH has developed recommendations to reduce the risk of sudden cardiac death among firefighters.

COPYRIGHT ©2008, ISO Services Properties, Inc.

The information contained in this publication was obtained from sources believed to be reliable. ISO Services Properties, Inc., its companies and employees make no guarantee of results and assume no liability in connection with either the information herein contained or the safety suggestions herein made. Moreover, it cannot be assumed that every acceptable safety procedure is contained herein or that abnormal or unusual circumstances may not warrant or require further or additional procedure.