USFA 2012 Annual Report Firefighter Fatalities
Quick Look
2012 annual report: overview of findings
- Eighty-one firefighters died while on duty in 2012.
- The total break down included 42 volunteer, 28 career, and 11 wildland agency firefighters.
- There were 4 multiple firefighter fatality incidents claiming a total of 10 firefighters.
- Fifteen firefighters died in duties associated with wildland fires.
- Activities related to emergency incidents resulted in the deaths of 45 firefighters.
- Twenty-two firefighters died while engaging in activities at the scene of a fire.
- Seventeen firefighters died while responding to or returning from 16 emergency incidents.
- Eighteen firefighters died as the result of 14 vehicle crashes, six involving POVs, six involving apparatus, and six from two separate incidents involving aircraft.
- Heart attacks were the most frequent cause of death with 39 firefighter deaths.
- Eight firefighters died while they were engaged in training activities.
- Twelve firefighters died after the conclusion of their on-duty activity.
Annual report background
For 36 years, the National Fire Data Center has kept track of firefighter fatalities and conducted an analysis of the fatalities that occur each year. Through the collection of information on the causes of firefighter deaths, the USFA is able to focus on specific problems and direct efforts towards finding solutions to reduce the number of firefighter fatalities in the future. This information is also used to measure the effectiveness of current efforts directed toward firefighter health and safety.
The specific objective of the study Firefighter Fatalities in the United States is to identify all of the on-duty firefighter fatalities that occur in the United States and to analyze the circumstances surrounding each occurrence. The study is intended to help identify approaches that could reduce the number of deaths in future years.
Source: http://www.usfa.fema.gov/fireservice/firefighter_health_safety/firefighter-fatalities/reports/Download full report .pdf: http://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/ff_fat12.pdf
