65,000 Injuries a Year to U.S. Firefighters

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) released the latest edition of its U.S. Firefighter Injury Report which highlights data on injuries sustained by firefighters on duty.

The statistics were collected from fire departments responding to the 2013 NFPA survey for U.S. Fire Experience.

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In 2013, 65,880 firefighter injuries occurred in the line of duty, a decrease of 5.1 percent from the previous year.

• Of those injuries, 29,760 (45.2 percent) occurred during fireground operations, with the leading causes reported as overexertion, strain (26.5 percent) and fall, slip, jump (22.7 percent).
• The Northeast had the highest fireground injury rate, with more injuries per 100 fires than other regions of the country.

The major types of injuries received during fireground operations were:        

• strains, sprains, and muscular pain (55.3 percent)
• wounds, cuts, bleeding, and bruising (13.8 percent)
• burns (5.1 percent)
• smoke or gas inhalation (5.0 percent)

An estimated 11,800 injuries occurred during other on-duty activities, including:

• 4,015 while responding to or returning from an incident
• 7,770 during training activities
• strains, sprains, and muscular pain accounted for 58.4 percent of all non-fireground injuries

In addition to injuries, there were 7,100 exposures to infectious diseases, and 17,400 exposures to hazardous conditions.
 
About the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
NFPA is a worldwide leader in fire, electrical, building, and life safety. The mission of the international nonprofit organization founded in 1896 is to reduce the worldwide burden of fire and other hazards on the quality of life by providing and advocating consensus codes and standards, research, training, and education. NFPA develops more than 300 codes and standards to minimize the possibility and effects of fire and other hazards.