Firefighter Fatalities for 2006
Information Source: United States Fire Administration Report July 2007
Presentation by Laurence Wilson Jr. FF/EMT-P Dutchess Community College – Fire Science Program
Introduction:
The report is a continuation of a series
This presentation is based on the July 2007 report
USFA is the single public agency
For information on all on duty Firefighter fatalities in the US May be accessed on the USFA Web site www.usfa.dhs.gov/fireservice/fatalities
Objectives
Brief Overview of the U.S. Fire Administration July 2007 report Define who is a Firefighter What is an On Duty Fatality Briefly Outline the Hometown Heroes Act
Objectives (con’t)
Review the 2007 report findings
Numbers Type of Duty being performed Injury Cause Nature of Injury Deaths by Age, Activity Deaths by region/state
Who is a Firefighter?
All members of organized fire departments
All 50 States, District of Columbia, Territories, Commonwealths and Guam Firefighters Full-time public safety officers Wildland firefighters State, Federal, Contract and Private
Includes Career and Volunteer
What Constitutes an On Duty Fatality?
On duty fatalities include:
Injury or illness sustained on duty resulting in fatality At emergency scene Responding to or from an incident Performing “Official Duties” On call, On orders or On Standby duty
What Constitutes an On Duty Fatality?
Examples:
An individual who experiences a heart attack or other injury while preparing to respond to an incident (at home or place of business) An individual becomes ill while performing fire department duties and suffers a heart attack or other fatal injury shortly after arriving at another location may be considered on duty.
Hometown Heroes Act
Hometown Heroes Survivors Benefit Act of 2003 Signed into Public Law December 15, 2003 Presumes that a heart attack or stroke suffered are in the line of duty if:
FF was engaged in non-routine stressful or physical activity Becomes ill while on duty or within 24 hours after
Hometown Heroes Act
A fatality may be caused
Directly by an accident Or intentional injury Emergency or Nonemergency circumstance Occupational related fatal illness
Hometown Heroes Act
Occupational related illness fatalities include:
Communicable disease contracted while on duty which proved to be fatal Disease attributed to a documented occupational exposure
2006 Findings
One Hundred and six…………..106 Firefighters died while on duty. 92 While on duty in 2006 Down from 99 in 2005 Second consecutive year with decrease
2006 Findings
The first and last firefighters to die in 2006 as a result of an incident occurring in 2006 were both from the State of Texas. The first to die was Firefighter II/Paramedic Richard O. Longoria of the Corpus Christi Fire Department. He died on January 3, 2006 as the result of a stroke as he drove home from work at the fire department. The last was Firefighter Philip Wayne Townsend, Denison Fire Department, who died from blunt force trauma on December 30, 2006 as a result of a structural collapse.
USFA 2007 report
2006 Findings
On Duty Firefighter Fatalities (19772006)
Graph USFA report. Note: 2001 – 344 – FDNY – WTC – 9/11
Career and Volunteer Deaths in 2006
77 Volunteer Firefighter deaths 29 Career Firefighter deaths 6 Female 100 Male
The six female firefighter deaths in 2006 represent 5.7 percent of the total number of firefighter deaths. This is the highest percentage of female deaths in over a decade.
USFA report 2007
Career and Volunteer Deaths in 2006
USFA report 2007
Multiple Firefighter Fatality Incidents
Table 1. Multiple Firefighter Fatality Incidents Year Number of Incidents Total Number of Deaths 2006 6 17 2005 4 10 2004 3 6 2003 7 20 2002 9 25 2001 8 362 2001 w/o WTC 7 18 2000 5 10 1999 6 22 1998 10 22 1997 8 17
USFA report 2007
Firefighter Deaths by Type of Duty
Activities related to emergency incidents Resulted in 61 FF fatalities Including responding to or returning from Emergency Scene Nonemergency activities Resulted in 45 FF fatalities
Type of Duty Number of Deaths Fireground Operations 36 Other On Duty 21 Responding/Returning 15 Training 9 Nonfire Emergencies 5 After an Incident 20 Total 106
Firefighter Deaths by Cause of Injury
Table 8 – Cause of Fatal Injury (2006) Cause Number Stress/Overexertion 54 Vehicle Collision 19 Caught/Trapped 13 Collapse 8 Struck by 6 Lost 3 Contact/Exposure 2 Other 1 Total 106 USFA report 2007
Nature of Fatal Injury
Table 10 – Nature of Fatal Injury (2006)
Heart attacks
Most frequent cause of death Down from 55 in 2005 61 in 2004
Nature Heart Attack Internal Trauma Asphyxiation Burns Crushed CVA Electrocution Other Total
Number 50 24 12 8 5 4 1 2 106
50 deaths
Lowest in last 3 years
USFA report 2007
Firefighter Deaths by Age
USFA report 2007
Firefighter Deaths by Activity
Table 17. Type of Activity (2006)
Table 18. Firefighter Deaths While Engaged in Fire Attack
Nature Number Fire Attack 24 Search and Rescue 4 Standby and Support 4 Pump Operations/Water 2 Incident Command 1 Unknown 1 Total 36
Year Number of Firefighter Deaths 2006 24 2005 11 2004 16 2003 11 2002 13 2001 13 2000 13 1999 16 1998 18 1997 21
USFA report 2007
Firefighter Deaths during Fire Attack
24 firefighters killed
Engaged in direct fire attack Advancing or operating a hoseline
With 24 deaths during fire attack, 2006 had the highest number of such deaths in a decade.
USFA report 2007
Firefighter Deaths by State and Region
Number
3 11 1 1 4 3 4 3 2 2 2 1 1 1 4 11 1 2
State
Alabama California Colorado Connecticut Georgia Idaho Illinois Indiana Kansas Kentucky Maryland Michigan Minnesota Missouri Mississippi North Carolina Nebraska New Hampshire
Percent of Total 2.83% 10.3% 0.94% 0.94% 3.77% 2.83% 3.77% 2.83% 1.88% 1.88% 1.88% 0.94% 0.94% 0.94% 3.77% 10.3% 0.94% 1.88%
Number 5 1 1 14 3 2 1 6 1 2 1 3 4 1 1 1 1 1
State
New Jersey New Mexico Nevada New York Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Virginia Washington Wisconsin West Virginia
Percent of Total 4.71% 0.94% 0.94% 13.2% 2.83% 1.88% 0.94% 5.66% 0.94% 1.88% 0.94% 2.83% 3.77% 0.94% 0.94% 0.94% 0.94% 0.94%
Summary
Who is a firefighter?
A career or volunteer member of an organized Fire Department An injury that leads to death or death while “On Duty”
The current explanation of an On Duty Fatality
Summary
Hometown Heroes Act
Heart attack or Stroke within 24 hours after “duty” Fatality caused by:
Accident Intentional Injury Occupational related illness
Summary
United States Fire Administration 2007 Report
106 Fatalities - 29 Career, 77 Volunteer 36 Fireground Fatalities, 20 AFTER an incident Stress/Overexertion and Vehicle Accidents leading causes Heart Attack number 1 killer
Summary
USFA 2007 Report (con’t)
41 – 45 year olds shift from trauma leading cause to Heart attack/CVA 2006 – 24 deaths during fire attack, HIGHEST year in a decade
QUESTIONS?