Line-of-duty deaths among U.S. firefighters: an analysis of fatality investigations

Accid Anal Prev. 2011 May;43(3):1171-80. doi: 10.1016/j.aap.2010.12.030. Epub 2011 Jan 22.

Abstract

More than 100 firefighters die in the line-of-duty in the U.S. each year and over 80,000 are injured. This study examined all firefighter fatality investigations (N = 189) completed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) for fatalities occurring between 2004 and 2009. These investigations produced a total of 1167 recommendations for corrective actions. Thirty-five high frequency recommendations were derived from the total set: six related to medical fatalities and 29 to injury-related fatalities. These high frequency recommendations were mapped onto the major operational components of firefighting using a fishbone or cause-effect diagram. Over 70% of the 30 non-external recommendations were categorized within the personnel and incident command components of the fishbone diagram. Root cause techniques suggested four higher order causes: under-resourcing, inadequate preparation for/anticipation of adverse events during operations, incomplete adoption of incident command procedures, and sub-optimal personnel readiness. These findings are discussed with respect to the core culture of firefighting.

MeSH terms

  • Accidents, Occupational / classification
  • Accidents, Occupational / mortality*
  • Accidents, Occupational / prevention & control
  • Adult
  • Causality
  • Female
  • Fires / prevention & control
  • Fires / statistics & numerical data*
  • Humans
  • Inservice Training
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, U.S.
  • Personnel Management
  • Risk
  • Task Performance and Analysis
  • United States
  • Volunteers / statistics & numerical data
  • Wounds and Injuries / classification
  • Wounds and Injuries / mortality*
  • Wounds and Injuries / prevention & control