The National Fire Protection Association estimated that in 1997, 87,500 United States firefighters were injured, and 93 killed, in the line-of-duty. Congress has funded the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to address this problem. NIOSH created the Firefighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program to (1) better define the magnitude and characteristics of deaths and severe injuries, (2) develop recommendations for the prevention of these injuries and deaths, and (3) implement and disseminate prevention efforts. A five-part integrated plan, based on detailed reports of each fatality investigation, was established to carry out these goals. The Firefighter Investigation Database is an integral part of this plan, and contains information on the victim, the incident, and the fire department collected during the field investigations. Basic descriptive statistics of the first two years of the database are reported here. Eighty-one cases were investigated in 1998 and 1999. More than 90% of the firefighters were white males. Fifty-six percent were career and 40% were volunteer. The median length of service was 11 years for career and 5.5 years for volunteers. Fire department sizes ranged from 16 to 11,000 fire fighters employed. Thirty-three percent of fatalities were due to asphyxiation, 28% were due to cardiovascular disease, and 12% were due to burns. These and other data will be used to identify risk factors, and will play a critical role as part of the Firefighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program in characterizing and preventing future firefighter line-of-duty injuries and deaths.
Learning Objectives: 1) Describe the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Firefighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program Database 2) Articulate the purpose of the Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program Database
Keywords: Occupational Injury and Death, Data/Surveillance
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.