The Colorado State Fire Chiefs’ Association (CSFCA) is dedicated to providing leadership, education, and support to the chief officers of Colorado fire departments in order to reduce the loss of life and property and to protect Colorado ’s citizens and institutions from all types of emergencies.  One of the stated goals of the CSFCA is to promote firefighter health and safety.  The following information and resources are provided to assist our members in achieving that goal.

Provisional 2007 Firefighter Fatality Statistics

January 8, 2008 – The United States Fire Administration (USFA) announced today there were 115 on-duty firefighter fatalities in the United States in 2007.  he full report can be downloaded in PDF format by clicking here

2006 Firefighter Fatalities

The U.S. Fire Administration released a report detailing the 106 firefighter fatalities it classifies as on-duty deaths that occurred in the United States in 2006.  The full report can be downloaded in PDF format by clicking here.  

http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/ff_fat06.pdf

2005 Firefighter Fatalities

The U.S. Fire Administration released a report detailing the 115 firefighter fatalities it classifies as on-duty deaths that occurred in the United States in 2005.  The full report can be downloaded in PDF format by clicking here.  

http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/fa-306-508.pdf
 

Fatalities Among Volunteer and Career Firefighters

The Centers for Disease Control released a report (April 28, 2006) on Fatalities Among Volunteer and Career Firefighters in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.  They found that among volunteer firefighters, sudden cardiac death (e.g., from myocardial infarction or arrhythmia) and motor vehicle (MV) crashes during emergency response were the leading causes of fatality.  Among career firefighters, sudden cardiac death and asphyxiation were leading causes of death.  Adoption and enforcement of existing fire-service recommendations regarding fitness standards, mandatory medical evaluations with appropriate work restrictions, and emergency vehicle response protocols are needed to prevent fatalities among firefighters.

LINK TO REPORT: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5516a3.htm?s_cid=mm5516a3_e
 

Near-Miss Reporting System

The Colorado State Fire Chiefs’ Association (CSFCA) encourages its members to help improve fire fighter safety by sharing near-miss experiences so that all fire fighters and emergency responders can help prevent unnecessary injuries and fatalities.

http://www.firefighternearmiss.com/home.do
 

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2007 National Firefighter Life Safety Summit Report

More than 200 fire service personnel met in Novato, California on March 3-4, 2007, and were divided into groups to discuss a myriad of issues ranging from health and safety to training and research and structural firefighting.

Among the key recommendations include promote safety culture, adopt crew resource management, make no exceptions for fitness for duty rules, enforce seat belt compliance, create and participate in data programs, establish driving protocols and participate in Firefighter Near-Miss.

2007 National Firefighter Life Safety Summit Report

Online Emergency Vehicle Safety Program

The United States Fire Administration has a new emergency vehicle safety program designed to give firefighters a greater awareness of safety issues when riding on fire apparatus and operating at emergency roadway scenes.  Although injuries and death as the result of apparatus collisions are among the easiest to prevent, of the 106 firefighters who died in the line of duty in 2005, 26 were due to emergency vehicle accidents.

http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/fireservice/research/safety/vehicle.shtm

Smoke Inhalation & Hydrogen Cyanide Poisoning

Emergency medical and fire-rescue professionals tend to equate cyanide poisoning with accidental or intentional ingestion. However, cyanide toxicity from smoke inhalation in a structural or an enclosed-space fire is the most likely cause of cyanide toxicity that EMS and fire professionals will encounter.

PDF FILE: Smoke Inhalation & Hydrogen Cyanide Poisoning, an editorial supplement to JEMS, Summer 2004. (Large file 6MB)

Emergency Duties and Deaths from Heart Disease among Firefighters in the United States

Heart disease causes 45% of the deaths that occur among U.S. firefighters while they are on duty. The Harvard Medical School examined duty-specific risks of death from coronary heart disease among on-duty U.S. firefighters from 1994 to 2004.

Other Resources and Reports

Taking Care of Our Own - A Resource Guide for Line of Duty Deaths, Colorado Fallen Firefighters Foundation (2003)

The Economic Consequences of Firefighter Injuries and Their Prevention.

http://www.fire.nist.gov/bfrlpubs/NIST_GCR_05_874.pdf

Guide to Model Policies and Procedures for Emergency Vehicle Safety

http://www.iafc.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=602
 

Cancer Risk Among Firefighters: A Review and Meta-analysis of 32 Studies

PASS Device Safety Issue (02/28/07)

PASS Performance Issues Addressed in New Edition of NFPA Standard (02/28/07)

Future Directions for the NIOSH Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program

Other Firefighter Safety Links

Everyone Goes Home – Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives

http://www.everyonegoeshome.com/

Fire Department Safety Officer’s Association

http://www.fdsoa.org/

Firefighter Cancer Foundation

http://www.ffcancer.org/

Fire Service Joint Labor Management Wellness-Fitness Task Force

http://www.iaff.org/HS/Well/wellness.html

Heart Healthy Firefighter Program

http://healthy-firefighter.org/

IAFF Department of Occupational Safety, Health and Medicine

http://www.iaff.org/hs/index.htm

National Fallen Firefighters Foundation

http://www.firehero.org/

NIOSH Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/fire/

People’s Burn Foundation

http://www.peoplesburnfoundation.org/

ResponderSafety.com

http://respondersafety.com/

Wildfire Lessons Learned Center

http://www.wildfirelessons.net

Links Last Verified 11-07-07