Analysis Report on

Fire Fighter Fatalities

Prepared by

Fire Analysis and Research Division

National Fire Protection Association

Batterymarch Park

Quincy, MA 02269

Prepared for

Federal Emergency Management Agency

U.S. Fire Administration

Contract No. EMW-87-C-2570

August 1988

Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication

do not necessarily reflect the views of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
This document was scanned from hard copy to portable document format (PDF)

and edited to 99.5% accuracy. Some formatting errors not detected during the

optical character recognition process may appear.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This study was funded by the U.S. Fire Administration of the Federal

Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). It would not have been possible without

the cooperation and assistance of the U.S. fire service, the United States

Fire Administration, the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program of the

Department of Justice, the Bureau of Land Management of the Department of the

Interior, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the U.S. Department of Energy and the

U.S. military, all of whom contributed data to this study.

The assistance of other NFPA staff members is also acknowledged: A.

Elwood Willey, Assistant Vice President, Research and Fire Information

Services; Dr. John Hall, Director, Fire Analysis and Research Division;

Martin Henry, Director, Public Fire Protection Division; Kenneth Tremblay,

John Barry, Michael Karter, and Kenneth Taylor, Fire Analysis and Research

Division; and Gary Tokle and Carl Peterson, Public Fire Protection Division.

The authors also wish to acknowledge the assistance of USFA staff,

particularly John Ottoson, Project Officer, for their suggestions and support.

Special thanks go to Nancy Schwartz and Helen Columbo for typing the

several drafts of this report.

Rita F. Fahy

Arthur E. Washburn

Paul R. LeBlanc

Project Staff
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Paqe

Table of Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i

List of Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i i

List of Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv

Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V

I . Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I

A. Who Is a Fire Fighter?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

B. What Constitutes an On-Duty Fatality? . . . . . . 2

C. Sources of Initial Notification . . . . . . . . . 3

D. Procedure for Including a Fatality in the Study . 4

E. Additional Data Collection Completed

for the Contract. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

II. 1987 Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

A.

B.

C.

D.

E.

F.

G.

H.

Type of Duty. .................. 6

Cause and Nature of Fatal Injury or Illness. . 10

Ages of Fire Fighters .............. 14

Fire Ground Deaths. ............... 17

Time of Day ................... 19

Month of the Year ................ 19

State and Region. ................ 24

Analysis of Urban/Rural/Suburban Patterns

in Fire Fighter Fatalities. .......... 24

III. Training Fatalities 1978-1987 ............ 29

IV. Wildland Fire Fatalities 1978-1987. ......... 35

V. Smoke Inhalation and Smoke Exposure Deaths 1978-1987. 43

VI. Conclusions and Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . 49

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

-i-
LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page

1

Title

Line of Duty Fire Fighter Deaths

1978-1987 7

8

2 Average Annual Fatality Rates

by Industry, 1980-1984

3 Fire Fighter Deaths 1987 by

Type of 'Duty 9

12

13

6

7

15

16

18

20

21

22

23

30

32

33

36

37

Fire Fighter Deaths 1987 by

Cause of Injury

4

Fire Fighter Deaths 1987 by

Nature of Injury

5

Fire Fighter Deaths 1987 by Age

and Cause of Death

Average Death Rates per 10,000

Fire Fighters 1983-1987

8 Fire Ground Deaths in 1987

by Fixed Property Use

9 Fire Fighter Fatalities 1987 by

Time of Day

Fire Fighter Fatalities by Time

of Day 1978-1987

10

Fire Fighter Fatalities 1987 by

Month of Year

11

Fire Fighter Fatalities by

Month of Year 1978-1987

12

U.S. Fire Fighter Training

Deaths 1978-1987

U.S. Fire Fighter Training Deaths

by Cause of Injury 1978-1987

13

14

15 U.S. Fire Fighter Training Deaths

by Nature of Injury 1978-1987

16 U.S. Fire Fighter Deaths in

Wildland Fires, 1978-1987

17 Wildland Fire Ground Fatalities

by Region 1978-1987

-ii-
Figure Title

LIST OF FIGURES (Continued)

18 Fire Fighter Fatalities in Wildland

Fires by Cause of Fatal

Injury 1978-1987

19 Smoke Inhalation and Smoke Exposure

Fire Ground Deaths 1978-1987

20 Causes of Smoke Inhalation Deaths

1978-1987

Page

38

44

48

-iii-
LIST OF TABLES

Table

1

2

3

4

Title

Fire Fighter Fatalities by State

Fire Fighter Death Rates by

Region 1987

U.S. Wildland Fire Fighter

Fatalities by Nature of

Fatal Injury 1978-1987

Causes of Smoke Inhalation

Deaths 1978-1987

Page

25

26

41

4 7

-IV-
BACKGROUND

For more than a decade, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)

has developed the most complete records on U.S. fire fighter fatalities - both

in breadth of coverage and depth of detail - of any organization. This data

base has been used to support the fatality studies produced each year by NFPA

since 1974.

Over the past seven years, NFPA also has worked with FEMA's U.S. Fire

Administration (USFA) to provide, in a timely manner, lists of fire fighter

fatalities and their next of kin to support the National Fire Academy's annual

Fire Fighter Memorial Service. Under the present contract, NFPA has provided

the USFA with lists, both hand lettered and typed, of 1987 fire fighter

fatalities and with a list of names and addresses of next of kin and of fire

department chiefs for use in the Memorial Service in October 1988.

In August, a briefing on the 1987 experience and three special analyses

was presented by NFPA staff to USFA staff in Emmitsburg, MD. Through the

briefing and analysis, this contact continued the trend toward more extensive

analysis of patterns and trends in specific parts of the fire fighter fatality

problem. With over a decade of experience now classified in a computer data

base, NFPA is able to provide increasingly detailed and focused examinations

of the specific parts of the problem addressable by particular strategies.

The deliverables under this contract are (a) this analysis report, (b) the

incident and casualty data on tape in NFIRS Version 4.0 format, which is being

delivered separately, (c) the various lists described above, and (d) the

briefing provided in August.

-v-
I. INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this study is to analyze the circumstances surrounding fire

fighter fatalities in the United States in 1987 in an attempt to identify

potential means for reducing the number of deaths that occur each year. In

addition to the 1987 findings, this study will also include special analyses

of particular recurring scenarios, using NFPA's data base of fire fighter

fatalities from 1978 through 1987.

A. Who Is a Fire Fighter?

For the purpose of this study, the term "fire fighter" covers all members

of organized fire departments, whether career, volunteer or mixed; full-time

public service officers acting as fire fighters; state and federal government

fire service personnel; temporary fire suppression personnel operating under

official auspices of one of the above; and privately employed fire fighters

including trained members of industrial or institutional fire brigades,

whether full- or part-time.

Under this definition, the study includes not just municipal fire

fighters, but also seasonal and full-time employees of the U.S. Forest Service

and state forestry agencies; prison inmates serving on state forest service

crews; fire fighters for the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Indian

Affairs, and the U.S. Department of Energy; military personnel performing

assigned fire suppression activities; civilian fire fighters working at

military installations; and members of industrial fire brigades.

-1-
B. What Constitutes an On-Duty Fatality?

The term "on-duty" refers to being at the scene of an alarm, whether a

fire or non-fire incident; being enroute while responding to or returning from

an alarm; performing other assigned duties such as training, maintenance,

public education, inspection, investigations, court testimony and fund

raising; performing non-fire duties on official assignment: and being on call,

under orders or on stand-by duty other than at home or at the individual's

place of business.

On-duty fatalities include any injury sustained while on duty that proves

fatal, any illness that was incurred as a result of actions while on duty that

proves fatal, and fatal mishaps involving occupational hazards that occur

while on duty. The types of injuries included in the first category are

mainly those that occur on the fire ground, in training or in accidents while

responding to or returning from alarms. The most common examples of fatal

illnesses incurred on duty are fatal heart attacks. Another example is a fire

fighter who contracted hepatitis when a victim being transported by ambulance

pulled out his intravenous needle and stuck the fire fighter. A few examples

of fatal occupational mishaps include fire fighters who died of asphyxiation

while working on fire apparatus in closed garages, a fire fighter who fell

through a slide pole hole, a fire fighter electrocuted while raising a banner

for a town event, a volunteer fire fighter who was fatally injured when he

fell down a flight of stairs in his home while responding to an alarm, and a

fire inspector who fell through a skylight.

Also included in the study are fire fighters who were murdered while on

duty. These include fire fighters shot by snipers while on the fire ground

and fire fighters shot in the station by off-duty or former fire fighters.

-2-
Fatal injuries and illnesses are included even In cases where death is

considerably delayed. When the onset of the condition and death occur in

different years, the incident is counted on the basis of the former. For

example, a Michigan fire fighter died in 1986 of a brain injury received in

1979 when he was struck by a brass hose coupling, resulting in recurring

seizures. Because his death was the direct result of his injury, and the

injury occurred in 1979, he is counted as a 1979 fatality.

The NFPA recognizes that these definitions should include chronic

illnesses (such as cancer) that prove fatal and that arise from occupational

factors. In practice, there is as yet no mechanism for identifying fatalities

that are due to illnesses that develop over long periods of time and that

thereby present an ambiguous picture on the issue of occupational versus other

factors as causes. This is recognized as a gap that cannot now be filled

because of the limitations of the state of the art in tracking and analysis.

C. Sources of Initial Notification

As an integral part of its ongoing program to collect and analyze fire

data, NFPA solicits information on fire fighter fatalities from the U.S. fire

service and a wide range of other sources. These include the U.S. Fire

Administration and the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program (PSOB). Both

are organizations with whom NFPA has maintained long-standing cooperative

efforts in collecting and analyzing fire fighter fatality data. Other

contacts include federal agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service of the

Department of Agriculture, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Bureau of Land

Management of the Department of Interior, the U.S. military, the Department of

Energy, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

-3-
We also receive notification from fire service organizations such as the

International Association of Fire Fighters, state fire associations, state

training organizations, state and local fire marshals, and fire service

publications. A network developed over the years of individuals interested in

the area of fire fighter fatalities also assists in identifying incidents,

especially those that occur outside of large urban areas or that involve

non-fire-incident-related fatalities. Among these individuals are fire

fighters, photographers, fire buffs, and members of the insurance industry.

Notification of fatal incidents also comes from NFPA members and staff and

through the use of a newspaper clipping service that reads all daily and

weekly newspapers in the country.

D. Procedure for Including a Fatality in the Study

After initial notification of a fatal incident is received, contact with

the local fire department is made by telephone to verify the incident, its

location and the fire department involved. Data collection forms for the

fatality and the fire, if it was a fire incident, are sent to the responsible

local official identified during the telephone follow-up. After the forms are

returned to NFPA, a final decision is made to include or exclude the fatality,

based on the inclusion criteria described previously. In order to make a

final determination, additional information is sometimes sought, either by

contacting the fire department directly to clarify some of the details or by

obtaining data elsewhere, such as medical documentation frequently available

from PSOB.

-4-
Some of the material that might be received to document an incident

includes casualty forms, both NFPA fire fighter fatality study reporting forms

and NFIRS-type forms; NFPA's Fire Incident Data Organization major-fire report

form or the department's own incident reporting form, if a fire incident was

involved in the fatality; medical data such as death certificates or autopsy

reports: special 'investigation reports from other agencies; police and motor

vehicle accident reports, if applicable; photographs and diagrams; and

additional newspaper accounts. Incidents to be included in the study are then

coded into NFPA's Fire Incident Data Organization (FIDO), which includes both

incident and casualty information. By mutual agreement of the USFA and NFPA

project staff, the same inclusion criteria were used for the USFA study as are

used in the NFPA study.

Work described to this point was done as part of NFPA's ongoing program of

data collection and analysis in the area of fire fighter fatalities and was

completed at no cost to FEMA.

E. Additional Data Collection Completed for the Contract

To meet FEMA's request for a list of the next-of-kin of the 1987

fatalities and the names and addresses of the fire chiefs, a follow-up mailing

was sent to all departments asking them to verify the victims' names and dates

of fatal injury, the names and addresses of the departments and chiefs, and

the names and relationships of the next of kin. Telephone calls were made to

non-responding fire departments to obtain the information.

-5-
II. 1987 FINDINGS

One hundred twenty-seven fire fighters died in the line of duty in 1987.

As shown in Figure 1, although this was an 11.4 percent increase from the year

before, there has been no consistent trend overall since 1981. Renewed

efforts must be made to target certain specific areas of the problem in order

to achieve further reduction. A comparison of fire fighting to other

occupations is shown in Figure 2. The data for other industries was obtained

from a NIOSH report.' The fire fighter fatality data was based on deaths of

career fire fighters reported to NFPA from 1980 to 1984 and NFPA's estimate of

the number of career fire fighters in the United States in 1983. After

mining, fire fighting is the most hazardous occupation in terms of

fatalities. This study will report some of the most frequently occurring

scenarios and will present some conclusions and recommendations to address the

problem.

A. Type of Duty

The distribution of deaths by type of duty being performed is shown in

Figure 3. The largest proportion of deaths occurred during fire ground

operations. Of these 53 deaths, 24 were due to heart attacks, 10 to internal

trauma, 8 to smoke inhalation, six to crushing injuries, two to burns, two to

gunshot wounds and one to electrocution. Twenty-four of the victims were

career fire fighters and 29 were volunteers.

The second largest category involved responding to and returning from

alarms, which accounted for over a quarter of the deaths. This is an

improvement over the experience in 1986 when one-third of the deaths occurred

while responding or returning. Sixteen of these 37 deaths were due to heart

-6-



attacks, five to falls from apparatus, one to burns, one to heat stroke, two

to trees falling on vehicles and the rest to collisions.

There were 15 training-related fatalities last year, compared to seven in

1986. Four of the deaths involved participants in two live fire training

exercises. Because of the unusual increase in the number of training deaths

in 1987, this report includes a separate section that discusses deaths during

training from 1978 through 1987.

There were 11 deaths while working at non-fire incidents. These included

four heart attacks and one stroke while working at motor vehicle accidents or

EMS calls, two fire fighters struck by passing vehicles while working at motor

vehicle accidents, one due to burns suffered in an explosion while working at

a natural gas line leak, one drowning after a water rescue, one victim who

fell off the side of an engine while working at an ammonia leak and was

crushed by the vehicle's rear wheels, and one while diving to retrieve nets

and rigging from a lost fishing vessel.

The other 11 deaths occurred while performing other duties -- 7 deaths

during normal station and administrative duties, one during a fire inspection,

one during maintenance activities, one while assisting at a water reservoir

cleanup, and one while participating in a parade.

B. Cause and Nature of Fatal Injury or Illness

As used in this study, the term "cause" refers to the action, lack of

action, or circumstances that directly resulted in the fatal injury while the

term "nature" refers to the medical nature of the fatal injury or illness or

what is often referred to as the cause of death. Often, the fatal injury is

-lO-
the result of a chain of events, the first of which is recorded as the cause.

For example, if a fire fighter is struck by a collapsing wall, becomes trapped

by the debris, runs out of air before being rescued and dies of asphyxiation,

the cause of fatal injury recorded is "struck by collapsing wall" and the

nature of fatal injury is "asphyxiation."

Figure 4 shows the distribution of deaths by cause of fatal injury or

illness. Stress was reported as the cause in almost half of the deaths.

Eight of these 62 deaths were attributed to strenuous physical activities.

The second major category was struck by or contact with objects. These 32

deaths included 24 motor vehicle accidents, three fire fighters struck by

collapsing walls, three struck by falling objects and two who were fatally

shot on arrival at the scene of a structure fire.

Nineteen fire fighters were caught or trapped - six by fire progress, five

by interior collapse, three by being lost inside buildings, two by underwater

objects and one each by flashover, explosion and falling objects. Ten fire

fighters died as a result of falls - seven from fire apparatus, one through a

hole burned in the floor of a building, one from a structure, and one who

tripped or lost his balance and fell, striking his head. Four deaths were

caused by exposure to fire products - three to smoke and one to fire.

the medical nature of the

of deaths were due to heart

ion indicated that 14 of the

victims had prior heart problems, either previous heart attacks or bypass

Figure 5 shows the distribution of deaths by

fatal injury or illness. The largest proportion

attacks. Of these 59 deaths, medical documentat

surgery, and 12 others had severe arteriosclerotic heart disease (defined for

this study as arterial occlusion of at least 50 percent). Two other victims

suffered from hypertension and another was fatigued prior to the fatal

incident. Medical documentation was not available for the other 30 heart

attack victims.

-ll-


The other categories of nature of fatal injury were internal trauma (28

deaths), asphyxiation (13 deaths), crushing (12 deaths), stroke (four deaths),

burns (four deaths), drowning (two deaths), gunshot wounds (two deaths), and

one each due to aneurysm, electrocution and heat stroke.

C. Ages of Fire Fighters

The ages of fire fighters who died in 1987 ranged from 16 to 73 years with

a median age of 45 years. The distribution of fire fighter deaths by age and

cause of death is displayed in Figure 6.

In most years, we find a very high proportion of heart attack deaths among

older fire fighters and few heart attacks among fire fighters under age 35.

In 1987, however, the rate of heart attack deaths was down to 60.5 percent

among fire fighters over age forty (compared to over 75 percent in 1986), and

less than half of the fire fighters over age 60 died of heart attacks. Five

of the heart attack victims were under the age of 35; two were under 20.

Figure 7 shows the death rates by age categories using estimates of the

number of fire fighters in each age group from NFPA's 1985 profile of fire

departments and the fatality data from 1983 through 19873. As the graph

shows, the death rate is lowest for fire fighters aged 20 to 39, slightly

above the average rate for those aged 40 to 49, and much higher than average

for fire fighters aged 50 and over. This is a reflection of the fact that

although only 15 percent of all fire fighters are over age 50, that age group

accounted for over a third of the deaths from 1983 through 1987.

-14-


D. Fire Ground Deaths

This distribution of the 53 fire ground deaths by fixed property use is

shown in Figure 8. For the first time in the 11 years of this study, the

greatest proportion of fire ground deaths (32.1 percent) occurred in wildland

fires - 17 deaths in 1987. (Another five deaths occurred while responding to

or 'returning from such fires.) Wildland fire incidents in 1987 and over the

past ten years are discussed in more detail in a separate section of the

report.

The second largest proportion of deaths occurred in residential properties

(24.5 percent) with nine in single-family dwellings, three in apartment

buildings and one in a two-family dwelling. There were five deaths in storage

properties - three in residential garages and two in barns. There were three

deaths each in manufacturing properties and stores. There were two deaths in

church fires and one in a college building.

Four fire fighters were killed in incendiary fires that originated in

abandoned buildings. One of these fires, which involved a large warehouse

complex, killed three Detroit, Michigan fire fighters in two separate

situations. In that incident, one fire fighter fell from a third floor window

after being forced to the window ledge by flashover while checking on the

extent of fire involvement. The other two were killed several hours later in

the same incident when a fire wall collapsed

on the third story of an exposed and 

lapsed while they operated a hand line

involved paper warehouse in the complex.

(For a full description of the incident see "Triple Tragedy in Detroit" in the

July 1987 issue of Fire Command.)

Two fatalities occurred in vacant buildings and one in a building under

construction. These fires were also of incendiary origin. A suspicious fire

in a building under renovation resulted in the death of one fire fighter.

-17-

A career chief suffered a heart attack while directing operations at a

fire that erupted during the removal of a leaking underground fuel tank.

To put the hazards of fire fighting in various types of occupancies into

perspective, the number of deaths per 100,000 structure fires was examined by

fixed property use. The rates were calculated using the estimates of fire

experience from NFPA's 1987 fire loss study4. There were 2.4 fire fighter

deaths per 100,000 residential structure fires, compared to 11.7 deaths per

100,000 nonresidential structure fires. Although almost three times as many

fires occurred in residential structures, the size, complexity and special

hazards often associated with nonresidential structures result in a much

greater risk at such fires.

E. Time of Day

The distribution of 1987 fire ground deaths and total deaths by time of

alarm is shown in Figure 9. This graph shows a peak in the late afternoon for

both categories. The number of deaths overall has two lower peaks in the late

morning and late evening but otherwise is fairly constant throughout the day.

The distribution of deaths by time of day over a ten-year period is shown in

Figure 10. The number of deaths in both categories was at the highest between

1:00 and 9:00 pm and drops to the lowest level in the early morning hours.

F. Month of the Year

Figure 11 shows the distribution of 1987 fire fighter deaths by month.

The same information for 1978 through 1987 is shown in Figure 12. Eleven of

the deaths from late August to early October were associated with the series

of forest fires that occurred in the western states. The ten-year analysis

shows that fire ground deaths are higher in the winter months and in midsummer.;

-19-




G. State and Region

The distribution of fire fighter deaths by state is shown in Table 1.

Thirty-six states are represented on the list, led by New York with 15

deaths. The experience by region' is displayed in Table 2. The Northeast

lost the largest number of fire fighters (44), followed by the South (36), the

Northcentral region (25) and the West (22). When looking at fire ground

deaths, we see that although there were more fire ground deaths in the

Northeast, there were so many fewer fires in the West than in the Northeast

that the death rate per 100,000 fires was highest in the West. 'This is not a

surprising result given the much increased number of fire ground deaths in the

West (14 in 1987 vs. 3 In 1986) due mostly to the wildland fire experience in

California.

H. Analysis of Urban/Rural/Suburban Patterns in Fire Fighter Fatalities

The U.S. Bureau of the Census defines "urban" as a place having at least

2,500 population or lying within a designated urbanized area. "Rural" is

defined as any community that is not urban. "Suburban" is not a Census term

but may be taken to refer to any place, urban or rural, that lies within a

metropolitan area defined by the Census but is not one of the designated

central cities of that metropolitan area.

Fire department coverage areas do not always conform to the boundaries of

Census places. For example, fire departments defined by counties or special

fire protection districts may have both urban and rural sections, and there

are Federal, state, and private fire fighters. In such cases, it may not be

possible to characterize the entire coverage area of a fire department as

-24-
Table 1

1987 Line of Duty

Fire Fighter Fatalities

State Number of Deaths State

Alabama

Arizona

California

Colorado

Connecticut

District of Columbia

Florida

Georgia

Illinois

Indiana

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

2 Mississippi

2 Missouri

13 Nebraska

1 New Hampshire

4 New Jersey

1 New Mexico

4 New York

3

5

2

2

3

1

4

2

2

9

1

North Carolina 2

Ohio 2

Oregon 1

Pennsylvania 7

South Carolina 5

Tennessee 3

Texas 6

Vermont 1

Virginia 2

Washington 3

Wisconsin 1

Number of Deaths

2

2

1

4

7

2

15

TOTAL: 127

-25-
Table 2

Fire Fighter Death Rate by Region

1987

Region

Northeast

Number of Number of Fire Fire Ground Death Rate

Fatalities Ground Deaths per 100,000 Fires

44 16 3.10

Northcentral 25 10 1.91

South 36 13 1.43

West 22 14 3.66

Nationwide 127 53 2.27

-26-
rural or urban, and one must assign a fire fighter death as urban or rural

based on the particular community in which he was operating when fatally

injured.

Based on these rules, the following patterns were found and are shown with

available patterns for the general population and for the population of fire

fighters specifically in local fire departments:

Total 1987 fire fighter fatalities

Suburban location

Local fire department only*

U.S. population (1980)

U.S. fire fighters (1986), total**

U.S. fire fighters (1986), career**

U.S. fire fighters (1986), volun.**

Urban

79 (62%)

23

78 (70%)

74%

58%

98%

47%

In 1986, the distribution of fire fighter fatalities from local fire

departments was closer to the distribution of fire fighters from local fire

departments than to the distribution of the whole U.S. population.*** The

conclusions suggested by this finding were that the the risk of dying, as

measured by local fire fighter deaths per 100,000 local fire fighters, is

nearly the same in urban and rural areas. The result was surprising, however,

since rural areas are generally served by volunteer fire fighters, who

Rural

48 (38%)

8

34 (30%)

26%

42%

2%

53%

Total

127 (100%)

31

112 (100%)

100%

100% 

100%

100%

*

Excludes one military service fire fighter killed in an urban location and

14 Federal, state and contract fire fighters killed in rural locations.

* * "U.S. Fire Department Profile Through 1986," Quincy, Massachusetts:

National Fire Protection Association, Fire Analysis Division, November

1987. All percentages are for fire f ghters in local fire departments. i

** Note that the classification of fire fighters into urban and rural is

based strictly on the population protected by the fire department and not

on metropolitan area considerations. However, if fire fighter fatalities

were similarly classified, the distribution would shift by at most two

percentage points, so the points here are not affected.

-27-
typically would average fewer work (exposure) hours per year than career fire

fighters and who would therefore be expected to have a lower risk of death per

100,000 fire fighters, as a separate career/volunteer analysis did show.

For 1987, however, the distribution of fire fighter fatalities from local

fire departments (70 percent urban, 30 percent rural> is closer to the

distribution of the whole U.S. population (74 percent urban, 26 percent rural)

than to the distribution of fire fighters from local fire departments (58

percent urban, 42 percent rural). This suggests that, for 1987, urban fire

fighters faced a greater risk of dying than fire fighters in rural areas.

This is not unexpected since urban areas are generally served by career fire

fighters who average more hours of exposure per year than volunteer fire

fighters and therefore would be expected to have a higher risk of death per

100,000 fire fighters. This finding is supported by the fact that career fire

fighters had 2.5 times the fire fighter death rate of volunteers in 1987.

(Volunteers accounted for 64 of the 112 local fire fighter fatalities, or 57

percent, versus 77 percent of the local fire fighters, according to 1986

figures. Therefore the risk index for volunteers would be .57/.77 = .74

versus .43/.23 = 1.87 for career fire fighters.)

Since the results have changed from one year to the next, this will be

worth rechecking in the future using data from multiple years.

-28-
III. TRAINING FATALITIES 1978-1987

In the ten-year period from 1978 through 1987, 58 fire fighters died while

training. As shown in Figure 13, for the first nine years of the period, the

number of deaths annually ranged between three and seven, but in 1987, the

number increased sharply -- to 15 deaths.

The three activities that accounted for most of the deaths were physical

fitness training or testing (12 deaths), apparatus and equipment drills (12

deaths) and live fire training (11 deaths). This last activity has received

significant attention in the past year since it is the activity that resulted

in the deaths of five participants in 1987. Three of the victims were killed

in one fire when they were caught on the first floor of an old farmhouse by

fire progress and became trapped after retreating to the second floor of the

structure. They all died of soot and smoke inhalation6. In a separate

training incident, a fire fighter died of asphyxiation after depleting his air

supply while attempting to exit the burning building. The fifth victim in

1987 was struck by a car and fatally injured while directing traffic at a live

fire training exercise.

The other fire fighters who died as a result of live fire training 

exercises include three who died of heart attacks, two who died of

asphyxiation in one incident after being trapped in a flashover and one who

died of burns when a home heating oil tank on the outside of the fire building

exploded.

All twelve of the fire fighters who died during physical fitness training

or testing were career fire fighters. Their activities at the time of injury

were jogging, running, lifting weights and playing basketball. All suffered

heart attacks.

-29-

The other training activities where deaths occurred were classes and

meetings (five deaths); smoke drills (four deaths); disaster and hazardous

material drills (three deaths); underwater training (three deaths);

preparation for training, including travel and setup (two deaths); high-rise

drill (one death); and other unspecified training activities (five deaths).

Figure 14 shows the cause of injuries in training deaths. The most

frequently reported cause of fatal injury was overexertion or stress (36

deaths). Eight deaths occurred when fire fighters were caught or trapped --

six by fire progress and one each by explosion and underwater objects. The

seven deaths that resulted from being struck by or coming into contact with an

object included five in motor vehicle collisions, one to contact with water

and one electrocution. Five fire fighters died as a result of falls -- two

from ladders, one from emergency apparatus, one tripped and fell on pavement,

and one in a hole. Two fire fighters died as a result of exposure to smoke.

As shown in Figure 15, the categories for the nature of fatal injury were

heart attack (32 deaths), internal trauma (8 deaths), asphyxiation (7 deaths),

stroke (4 deaths), crushing (2 deaths) and one each to burns, drowning,

respiratory arrest, electrical shock and aneurysm. Medical documentation was

available for 12 of the fire fighters who died of heart attacks. Five were

reported to have had severe arteriosclerotic heart disease, three had evidence

of prior heart attacks or bypass surgery, two had hypertension, one had

diabetes and one was reported to be fatigued at the time of the incident.

The fire fighters who died in training incidents ranged in age from 16 to

64 years. Thirty-four were career fire fighters and 24 were volunteer fire

fighters.

-31-


Training accounted for less than five percent of all fire fighter deaths

over the ten-year period but almost 12 percent of the deaths in 1987.

Hopefully, we will find that this was a single-year phenomenon but it serves

as an important reminder that although training is an essential part of fire

fighting it can be dangerous.

Fire fighter fatalities involving training are indicative of the need for

attention to safety, good command practices and appropriate standards on the

training ground as well as the fire ground.

In this section, live fire training was highlighted as a specific problem

area. Live fire training provides a high level of realism and simulation of

actual fire ground conditions. However, such training exercises also pose

many of the hazards encountered during actual emergencies. As a result, live

fire training drills must be planned with great care and must be closely

supervised to ensure that risks are kept to a minimum. A fatal live training

incident in 1982 led NFPA's Committee of Fire Service Training to develop the

standard, NFPA 1403, Standard on Live Fire Training Evolutions in Structures.

One way to avoid future live fire training casualty incidents is through

application of this standard along with good fire ground command practices.

All training exercises must be carefully planned and adequate precautions

taken to minimize the risk to all participants. When the training involves

particularly hazardous situations, extra supervision and precautions are

necessary to ensure fire fighter safety.

-34-
IV. WILDLAND FIRE FATALITIES 1978-1987

During the period from 1978 through 1987, 1,278 fire fighters died in the

line of duty. Of these 1,278 fire fighters, 147 (or 11.5 percent) died as a

result of wildland fires. (For this analysis, the term "wildland" is used to

include forest, brush and grass fires.) Approximately 17 percent of all fire

ground deaths occurred in wildland fires. As shown in Figure 16, the number

of deaths was generally between 12 and 17 per year with the exception of six

deaths in 1982 and 22 in 1987. The sharp increase in deaths from 14 in 1986

to 22 in 1987 prompted this special analysis on fatalities related to wildland

fires.

Three-quarters of the deaths (111) occurred during fire suppression

activities. Their distribution by region is shown in Figure 17. The

remaining 36 deaths occurred when fire fighters were responding to or

returning from such fires. For the 66 wildland fires for which cause of the

fire was reported, 28 were of incendiary or suspicious origin, 15 were due to

misuse of heat (12 due to inadequate control of open fire, two due to children

playing and one to a misfired tear gas cannister), eight were due to lightning

and the rest to various other factors.

The 147 victims included 12 chief officers, 15 company officers and 120

fire fighters. They ranged in age from 17 to 87, with a median age of 42

years. Three of the victims were women.

The breakdown of causes of fatal injury is shown in Figure 18. The

largest proportion of deaths during fire suppression activities were due to

stress. These 40 deaths include 16 due to physical exertion on the fire

ground. The next major category was contact with or exposure to object.

-35-



These 21 deaths include eight due to exposure to electricity, eight due to

exposure to smoke, four due to exposure to fire and one due to a lightning

strike. Three of the fire fighters who were electrocuted came in contact with

downed powerlines; three were killed when they touched guy wires that had been

energized from contact with power lines; and two made contact with their

vehicles that had been energized. Two contributing factors for these

electrocutions were tall vegetation and darkness.

The next major category was caught or trapped - 17 by fire progress and

one by falling objects. Fourteen of those 17 fire fighters overrun by fires

died of burns; the other three were asphyxiated. Another seventeen fire

fighters were killed in fire department apparatus accidents during fire

suppression activities (including 12 in aircraft crashes) and 12 others were

struck by vehicles or falling objects. The remaining three fire ground

fatalities fell - two from emergency apparatus and one in a hole.

Of the fire fighters who died while responding to or returning from

wildland fires, 26 were killed in accidents involving fire department

apparatus (including 5 in aircraft crashes).

The nature of fatal injuries is shown in Table 3. For this analysis, the

fire ground deaths were broken down by type of department - municipal

departments (career or volunteer) or forestry agencies. A profile of the 111

fire ground victims shows that 64 were members of municipal fire departments

(52 belonged to volunteer departments and 12 to career departments). The

other 47 fire fighters were career, seasonal or contract employees of state

and federal forestry agencies. As the table shows, heart attacks accounted

for more than half of the deaths of municipal fire fighters during fire

suppression activities, while most of the deaths to state and federal

employees were due to internal trauma and burns.

-39-
State and federal forestry officials believe that their rigid fitness

requirements account for the low proportion of heart attack deaths, which

seems to be supported by these findings. Of the 21 municipal heart attack

victims for whom medical documentation was available, 12 had had prior heart

attacks or bypass surgery, 6 had severe arteriosclerotic heart disease, one

was fatigued, one had diabetes, and one had hypertension. The municipal

volunteer fire fighters who suffered heart attacks ranged in age from 44 to 71

years with a median age of 55. The career municipal fire fighters ranged in

age from 48 to 61 with a median age of 53. In contrast, of the five forestry

fire fighters who died of heart attacks, one had severe arteriosclerotic heart

disease, one had hypertension and no medical documentation was available on

the other three. They ranged in age from 33 to 57 with a median age of 38

years.

As far as the other types of injuries suffered on the fire ground are

concerned, increased use of fire shelters may result in a reduction in fatal

burns and smoke inhalation deaths and the use of safer aircraft may reduce the

number of deaths due to aircraft crashes during suppression activities.

As mentioned earlier in this report, in 1987, for the first time in the

eleven years of NFPA's comprehensive study of fire fighter deaths, the largest

proportion of fire ground deaths occurred in wildland fires. In addition to

those 17 deaths, another five deaths occurred while responding to or returning

from such fires. Seven of the 17 deaths, and two of the responding/returning

deaths, occurred in California during a one-month period when the states of

California and Oregon were plagued by a series of wildland fires. One

incident that claimed the lives of three contractors to the U.S. Department of

the Interior occurred when an air tanker crashed while dropping fire retardant.

In another incident, two U.S. Army contractors were killed when their

aircraft crashed as they were dropping fire retardant on a range fire near the

White Sands New Mexico missile range. Six other fire fighters suffered fatal

-40-
Asphyxiation

Thermal Burns

Cardiac Arrest

Crushing

Drowning

Hemorrhaging,

Bleeding

Internal Trauma

Electrical Shock

Heat Stroke

Table 3

U.S.. Wildland Fire Fighter Fatalities

by Nature of Fatal Injury

1978-1987

Fire Ground Deaths

Federal and State Municipal

Wildland Agencies Volunteer Career

4 0 2

12 5 2

5 31 7

3 2 1

0 1 0

0 2 0

19 5 0

3 6 0

1 0 0

47 5 2 12

Deaths While

Responding/Returninq

1

0

6

6

0

0

23

0

0

36

-41-
heart attacks while operating at wildland fires. Two fire fighters who were

cutting trees at two separate forest fires were killed when they were struck

by falling tree sections. A fire fighter died of burns and smoke inhalation

when he was caught by rapid fire progress while cutting vegetation at a forest

fire. One fire fighter was struck and killed by a motorcycle while operating

at a forest fire. Another was killed when the bulldozer he was operating

rolled over. In another incident, a fire fighter fell from the extended

bumper area of a brush vehicle and was run over by the front wheels.

-42-
V. SMOKE INHALATION AND SMOKE EXPOSURE DEATHS, 1978-1987

Exposure to smoke and its aftereffects is an obvious hazard of fire

fighting. This brief analysis is confined to fire ground deaths due either to

asphyxiation due to smoke inhalation or heart attacks related to smoke

exposure -- the types of injuries relevant to the use of self-contained

breathing apparatus (SCBA).

There were 161 smoke inhalation and smoke exposure heart attack deaths

during fire ground activities from 1978 through 1987 (24.6 percent of the

total number of fire ground deaths). Approximately three quarters of them

(122 deaths) were due to asphyxiation; the remaining 39 deaths were heart

attacks. The distribution of these deaths by year is shown in Figure 19. In

order to draw any useful conclusions regarding the incidence of smoke-related

deaths, it is helpful to look at the two categories of fatal injury separately.

For the 39 heart attack deaths, smoke exposure was explicitly mentioned in

death certificates or autopsy reports as a major contributing factor in the

heart attack. In many cases, carboxyhemoglobin (COHB) levels were also

provided. It is interesting, however, to look at some factors also mentioned

in the medical documentation for these fatalities. Fourteen of the 39 victims

had had prior heart attacks or bypass surgery. Another 12 had severe

arteriosclerotic heart disease (at least 50% occlusion). No information on

prior physical condition was provided for the other 13 victims. The victims

ranged in age from 29 to 71 with a median age of 46 years. Twenty-four of the

victims were career fire fighters; the other 15 were volunteers.

-43-

Of these 39 heart attack victims, 30 were not wearing SCBA at the time

they were stricken. Most of them reportedly had not been using SCBA at any

time during the fire. Some had been wearing SCBA during fire fighting

operations, but removed their masks during overhaul. In some instances, the

wearing of SCBA was reported, but the high COHb levels reported made the

actual use of the equipment doubtful.

The 122 fire fighters who died of smoke inhalation had a somewhat

different profile. They ranged in age from 17 to 67 with a median age of 32

years. Of the 52 for whom medical documentation was available, 45 were

rested, five were reportedly fatigued, one was impaired by alcohol, and one

suffered from severe arteriosclerotic heart disease. Seventy-eight of the

victims were career fire fighters; the other 44 were volunteers.

The causes of the smoke inhalation deaths are listed in Table 4 and shown

in Figure 20. The most frequently reported cause was lost inside structures

(28 deaths). Other major categories were exposure to smoke (25 deaths),

caught by flashover (16 deaths), trapped by collapsing roof (16 deaths),

caught by fire progress (15 deaths) and trapped by floor collapse (15 deaths).

Of the 28 fire fighters who were lost inside structures, 22 had SCBA but

ran out of air, three had removed their SCBA or facepiece, one had equipment

that leaked and no information on SCBA was available for the other two. Of

the 25 who died as a result of exposure to smoke, 12 were not using SCBA (five

were fighting fires in their own homes, four were members of a fire brigade

and three were fighting grass or brush fires), seven ran out of air, two had

removed their SCBA, one had a broken facepiece and no information on SCBA was

available for the other three.

There were 16 other fire fighters without SCBA who died of smoke

inhalation. Ten were exposed as a result of roof collapse (eight were on the

-45-
roof, two were inside), four were trapped by fire progress during wildland

fires and two were trapped by flashover during fires in their own homes.

Eleven others who were using SCBA had the equipment burned, melted, severed,

knocked off or otherwise detached as a result of the circumstances that led to

their fatal injuries.

It appears from the decrease in the number of smoke inhalation and smoke

exposure deaths over the ten-year period, that the improvements in the design

and testing of SCBA which were strongly advocated in the late seventies and

early eighties seem to have had a positive impact on the problem. The other

(and maybe most significant) factor is the increased awareness among fire

fighters of the need to use SCBA and the adoption by many departments of

mandatory guidelines for the use of SCBA. In order to further reduce the

occurrence of such deaths, efforts must continue to ensure the safety of the

fire fighters operating inside structures including maintaining the integrity

of their escape route, using and heeding the warnings of low air alarms, the

utilization of PASS devices, and, of course, proper fire ground management.

-46-
Table 4

Causes of Smoke Inhalation Deaths

1978 - 1987

Causes Number of Deaths

Caught or Trapped

Lost inside

Flashover

Collapsing roof

Fire progress

Collapsing floor

Backdraft

Collapsing ceiling

28

16

16

15

12

2

1

Exposure to

Smoke 25

Struck by

Bales of hay 3

Collapsing. roof 1

Falls

Through hole in roof

Through hole in floor

2

1

VI CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Although there has been some reduction in the number of fire fighter

fatalities since the late 1970's, a plateau seems to have been reached and

more aggressive efforts must be made to reduce fatalities further. The

purpose of this report is to document some of the findings from the 1987

experience and the last decade's experience in order to use the lessons

learned to improve fire fighter safety.

This report analyzed three areas of particular concern: deaths during

training activities, deaths related to wildland fires, and smoke inhalation

and smoke exposure deaths. The analyses of training and wildland deaths are

prompted by the experience in 1987 and serve to highlight two areas of the

fire fighter fatality problem that, while not representing the largest aspects

of the problem, are significant.

Training is an essential fire fighter activity, but care must be taken to

ensure the safety of all participants. Recognized safe practices for

conducting live fire training drills in structures are outlined in NFPA 1403.

It is important to note, however, that most training-related fire fighter

deaths (40 of 58 in 1978-87, or 69 percent) did not involve such inherently

hazardous activities as live fire training, smoke drills, or underwater

training. In fact, most of the deaths during training reflect the factors

seen in the larger group of fire fighter deaths, i.e., heart attacks, often

associated with serious pre-existing medical problems, and the hazards of

operating apparatus, specifically vehicle accidents and falls. An examination

of training-related deaths serves, as much as anything else, to reinforce the

need for physical fitness screening and training and safer apparatus-handling

practices.

-49-
Although the 1987 wildland fire experience may be a single-year

phenomenon, it did focus attention on an area where attempts to decrease

losses, including more rigid fitness requirements and testing, have shown

signs of success and other strategies, such as the use of fire shelters, have

the potential for further reduction in losses. Vehicle-handling problems seem

to need attention here, too. There also are special problems in wildland

fires that can lead to fire fighters becoming lost or isolated. These special

risks warrant continued attention to command, control, and communications

issues.

The smoke inhalation and smoke exposure analysis was an effort to followup

on studies on SCBA-related deaths done in the early eighties. The analysis

showed that most of the victims who had been using SCBA ran out of air,

usually after becoming lost inside or trapped. Most of the victims without

SCBA were operating at wildland fires, on roofs or at fires in their own

homes. This analysis helps to illustrate the importance of proper use of SCBA

and proper management of the fire ground to ensure that fire fighters are

properly accounted for and are not operating in areas where they become lost

or subject to building collapse. Fire fighters must maintain contact with

each other and ensure that they have access to an exit while operating in a

structure.

Areas that merit additional study include investigation into the medical

histories of heart attack victims for whom documentation of prior heart

problems was not available; an examination of the cancer deaths reported to

PSOB, whether they qualified for benefits or not;' and a comprehensive analysis

of factors in motor vehicle accidents while responding to or returning from

alarms. Two relevant topics in the latter category are fatal accidents

involving volunteer fire fighters responding in their own vehicles and fatal

and non-fatal accidents involving emergency vehicles.

-5O-
To an individual fire department, the death of a fire fighter can appear

to be a random and extremely rare event. However, a look at the national

experience can provide valuable lessons to all departments. Changes in

operating procedures and attitudes must be made to improve fire fighter safety.

-51-
REFERENCES

1. "National Traumatic Occupational Fatalities, 1980-1984," National

Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Division of Safety Research,

Morgantown, WV, June 11, 1987.

2. Michael J. Karter, Jr., "Taking the Measure of the fire Service," Fire

Command, Vol. 52, No. 7, (July 1985).

3. NFPA Fire Analysis and Research Division, "Estimated Fire Fighters in the

U.S., 1985," unpublished, February 1987.

4. Michael J. Karter, Jr., "U.S. Fire Loss in 1987," Fire Journal, Vol. 82,

No. 5, (September 1988).

5. The four regions as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau included the

following 50 states and the District of Columbia:

Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey,

New York, Pennsylvania, Rhose Island, and Vermont.

Northcentral: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota,

Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida,

Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina,

Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.

West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana,

Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washingon, and Wyoming.

6. Thomas J. Klem, "Fatal Live Fire Training Incident," Fire Command,

Vol. 55, No. 5, (May 1988).

-52-