Firefighter fatalities pose a significant risk to those men and women who choose to enter this dangerous profession. The most common causes of firefighter deaths include heart attacks and trauma, with suffocation and burns representing the third and fourth most common cause of death. Various local and national organizations, such as the United States Fire Administration (USFA), are dedicated to studying such incidents in the hope that more information will lead to safer practices among professionals.
The leading causes of firefighter deaths, while generally consistent, vary as there may be changes in the concentration of these tragic accidents from year to year. For example, according to the USFA, over the past 30 years, firefighter deaths have ranged from 77 to 450 a year. However, it is important to note that the peak occurred during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 which saw a dramatic loss of life among emergency personnel.
This organization also statistically broke down firefighter deaths in terms of percentage of deaths as follows: heart attack accounted for 44%, traumatic injuries accounted for 27% of deaths, while burns and suffocation combined to account for 20% of firefighter deaths. These figures represent all data compilations made since 2009. While heart attacks and burns are very specific, trauma is a much broader category of head and internal injuries.
The nature of firefighting poses a great threat to a person's life. Physically, the strenuous nature of carrying loads of equipment into high temperature environments can cause the onset of a heart attack in an unfit individual. For this reason, most firefighters must maintain a baseline of health; however, genetic and dietary factors may mask cardiovascular conditions in apparently healthy individuals. Trauma is also, of course, a risk, as almost every aspect of a firefighter's environment could harm them. Collapsed buildings, equipment in poor condition, and sudden explosions pose threats.
Burns and lack of oxygen, although apparently infrequent in the 20% of combined causes of death in 2009, are an obvious survival concern for firefighters. Firefighters learn to deal with most of these issues during the training process, becoming more refined after the years of experience associated with on-the-job training. A better understanding of the risks and causes of accidents among firefighters can help them develop a more comprehensive understanding of these root causes, which can help maximize the safety of those in this protective service profession.