USFA releases fire-related firefighter injuries report

February 29, 2008 07:33 AM

By FireRescue1 staff

Photo Tod Parker/Phototac.com
Structure fires are by far the most dangerous for firefighters, according to the report.

WASHINGTON — Twice as many firefighters are injured each year performing fireground duties as there are fire injuries to the civilian population, according to a new report.

Career firefighters aged between 35-39 who are working to extinguish residential structure fires are most likely to suffer fire-related injuries, the report said.

The comprehensive statistical breakdown of non-fatal firefighter injuries reported in 2004 was released Friday by the USFA, using the National Fire Incident Reporting System.

While the report excludes many groups, for example departments whose records were incomplete, it provides a good basis for understanding the frequency of fire-related injuries.

“Every day, firefighters face great risks of bodily injury and possibly even death,” said National Fire Data Center Director Alex Furr. “Firefighting, by its very nature, is an extremely dangerous job, and therefore it is important that we take steps to educate the fire service on improving firefighter health and safety and focus on injury prevention.”

The report breaks down injuries by the age, gender and career/volunteer status of the firefighter who was hurt.

The peak age of injury is 35-39 years of age.

Gender seems to play very little role in the likelihood of injury. The rate of injury for females does drop off more sharply as they age, however.

For both genders, injury rates for age groups 20-29 and 30-39 were above the overall injury rate of 33.5 percent. The type of injuries suffered also changes with age, which the report attributed to physical fitness variations with age, the effect of age on assignments and “perhaps to the bravado of younger firefighters.”

Career firefighters accounted for almost two-thirds of all injuries for which an affiliation was reported. This contrasts sharply with firefighter fatalities — in 2004, 70 percent of firefighter deaths occurred in the volunteer service.

Younger volunteers are more likely to be injured than their career-firefighter counterparts. More than a quarter of volunteers injured were under 25.

The study also examined conditions on the fireground at the time of injury-causing incidents.

Structure fires are by far the most dangerous for firefighters, accounting for almost 80 percent of injuries. Of those, residential properties accounted for 60 percent.

Fires that were confined to the building of origin are the primary source of both single- and multiple-injury incidents, compared with fires confined to the room or floor of origin, and larger fires that spread beyond their building of origin.

Vacant or under-construction properties were given special consideration by the USFA. The report listed several reasons why they make particularly risky firegrounds. “In general, these fires are frequently arson-related with multiple ignition points. The layout is often unfamiliar and … continually changing. In addition, construction equipment, materials, and debris scattered about the site increase the risk of serious injuries,” it said. “Many of these fires are started when no one is around and the fire spreads rapidly before the fire department is called.”

Other environmental factors may increase the likelihood of injury:

Injury rates are lowest in the morning and peak in the early afternoon and evening.

Residential fires peak in mid-winter, and firefighter injury rates are highest during that time period.

Most injured firefighters reported being well-rested before the injury-causing incident occurred.

Full report: Fire-Related Firefighter Injuries in 2004

Safety