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Posts Tagged The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)

2018 NFPA Report on Firefighter Fatalities

Jun 22

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Excerpts from NFPA.org:

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) released its annual “U.S. Firefighter Fatalities in the United States” report, which showed a total of 64 U.S. firefighter fatalities while on duty in 2018. This is the eighth time in the last 10 years that fewer than 70 on-duty deaths have occurred; the death toll is half what it was in the first five years that NFPA conducted this study.

Of the 64 fatalities, 34 were volunteer firefighters, 25 were career firefighters, four were employees or contractors for federal or state land management agencies, and one was a prison inmate.

Overexertion, stress, and medical issues accounted for by far the largest share of deaths. Of the 28 deaths in this category, 25 were classified as sudden cardiac deaths (usually heart attacks). While cardiac-related events have accounted for 44 percent of the on-duty deaths over the past 10 years, 2018 represents the third consecutive year that the toll has been below 30.

The second-largest share of on duty deaths typically results from road vehicle crashes, with 11 deaths in 2018. The death toll due to crashes is only slightly lower than the average 13 deaths per year that have occurred in crashes over the past 40-plus years, but in the same time-frame, fire department call volume has more than tripled.

One firefighter was murdered when responding to a fire call in 2018. 

This report only reflects deaths that occur while victims are on-the-job, either as the result of traumatic injuries or onset of acute medical conditions,” said Fahy. “Studies have shown that years spent in the fire service can take a toll on a firefighter’s health, both physical and emotional, and can also result in exposures to toxins that eventually result in job-related cancer, cardiac, and suicide deaths that are not represented in this report.”

A comprehensive study that enumerates all duty-related deaths in a year is not yet possible to accomplish.

This firefighter fatality study is made possible by the cooperation and assistance of the United States fire service, CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the United States Fire Administration, the Forest Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Bureau of Land Management of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

For this release and other announcements about NFPA initiatives, research and resources, please visit the NFPA press room.

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2016 NFPA Report on Firefighter Fatalities

Jun 13

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From the NFPA’s Firefighter Fatalities in the United States – 2016

Report highlights

  • With 69 on-duty firefighter deaths in 2016, the annual total continued below average, with fewer than 70 deaths a year in five of the past six years.
  • The 15 deaths on the fireground is the lowest total reported in the 40 years of this study.
  • Sudden cardiac deaths and internal trauma accounted for the largest shares of the deaths (26 deaths each).
  • The number of deaths of career firefighters was the lowest total ever reported (19 deaths).

Excerpts from Firehouse.com:

The National Fire Protection Association has released its annual report on firefighter fatalities in the United States, and a leading cause of on-duty deaths in the fire service remains cardiac issues despite those deaths hitting an all-time low in 2016.

Last year’s total of 69 on-duty deaths marked the fifth time in six years that the number was below 70, according to the NFPA’s 2016 Report.

The 26 deaths attributed to cardiac issues marked the fewest since the NFPA began this study in 1977, but it was still high enough to match internal trauma as a leading cause. Sudden cardiac death has consistently been the leading cause for on-duty deaths year in and year out in the NFPA’s study.

Of the 69 total deaths, 39 were volunteers, 19 were career firefighters, eight were employees of federal land management agencies, one was a contractor with a state land management agency, one was a member of an industrial fire brigade and one was a prison inmate.

“When NFPA began reporting on firefighter deaths 40 years ago, the annual average was close to 150 fatalities per year,” Rita Fahy, NFPA’s manager of fire databases and systems, said in a release. “Over the past five years (between 2012 and 2016), the annual average has dropped to less than half that at 73 deaths, so we’ve clearly seen a significant decline in on-duty firefighter fatality rates over time.” 

The number of deaths attributed to cardiac issues dropped starkly from 51 percent in 2015, while the increase in internal trauma deaths — which was 24 percent in 2015 — could be attributed in part to deaths related to vehicle accidents jumping from 12 percent in 2015 to 25 percent last year.

Although the report has consistently shown a decline in on-duty firefighter fatalities in recent years, the NFPA is quick to point out that this does not provide the full picture of the risks firefighters face even years after the job — particularly with the issues of job-related cancers and PTSD coming to the forefront in the industry.

“While the annual report accurately reflects steadily declining rates among on-duty firefighters,” Fahy said, “it doesn’t capture many of the deaths that occur off duty that are ultimately the result of on-duty activities.”

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2013 NFPA Report on Firefighter Fatalities

Jun 17

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Spike to 97 firefighter fatalities is primarily attributed to Yarnell Hill, AZ, fire and West, TX, fertilizer fire

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) reported a total of 97 on-duty firefighter deaths in 2013, reflecting a sharp increase over the past few years. According to NFPA’s 2013 U.S. Firefighter Fatalities report, last year’s increase is largely attributed to the Yarnell Hill fire in Arizona and the West, Texas fertilizer fire that together claimed the lives of 28 firefighters.

The annual report was officially released today at NFPA’s 2014 Conference & Expo in Las Vegas.

“Overall, firefighter death rates have declined in recent years. In fact, 2012 represented the second lowest level of firefighter deaths in 35 years,” said Dr. Rita Fahy, NFPA’s manager of fire databases and systems. “What we saw in 2013 was a spike due to two major incidents, with wildfires playing a significant role in the overall firefighter death toll.”

The Yarnell Hill fire in Arizona killed 19 firefighters making it the deadliest incident for firefighters since 9/11. The fire at a fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas, claimed the lives of nine firefighters along with an EMT and five local residents, making it the fourth-highest loss-of-life incident for firefighters since 1977.

In 2013, the largest share of deaths occurred while firefighters were operating on the ground, with a total of 56 fatalities. This is the highest number of fire ground deaths since 1999 (excluding the deaths at the World Trade Center in 2001). Half of them occurred at 10 wildland fires.

“This was the fifth consecutive year that the total number of firefighter deaths was below 100, but the 2013 death toll was much higher than it has been in recent years,” said Fahy. “Our hope is that next year’s report reflects the general decline in firefighter deaths we’ve seen in the past few years.”

The firefighter fatality study is made possible by the cooperation and assistance of the United States Fire Service, the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Program of the Department of Justice, Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the United States Fire Administration, the Forest Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Bureau of Land Management of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

 

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2012 FIREFIGHTER FATALITIES IN THE UNITED STATES

Jun 20

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From the National Fire Protection Association:

FIREFIGHTER FATALITIES IN THE UNITED STATES

Report: NFPA’s “Firefighter Fatalities in the United States 2012”
Author:  Rita F. Fahy, Paul R. LeBlanc and Joseph L. Molis
Issued: June 2013

Overall statistics on line-of-duty firefighter fatalities in 2012, including non-incident-related deaths. Includes patterns, trends, career vs. volunteer comparisons, and brief narratives on selected incidents.

Introduction
In 2012, a total of 64 on-duty firefighter deaths occurred in the U.S. Stress, exertion, and other medical-related issues, which usually result in heart attacks or other sudden cardiac events, continued to account for the largest number of fatalities. Almost half of the deaths resulted from overexertion, stress and related medical issues. Of the 31 deaths in this category, 27 were classified as sudden cardiac deaths (usually heart attacks) three were due to strokes and one due to heat stroke.

Firefighter Fatalities

 

For the past four years, the annual total has been well below 100, dropping the annual average over the past 10 years to 88 deaths, the report showed.

The NFPA considers an on-duty firefighter as those at the scene, fire or non-fire incident (EMS); responding or returning from alarm; participating in any function such as fund-raising, education, training, maintentance.

Their criteria is different from both the USFA and the NFFF.

The NFPA researchers also noted another favorable trend — the number of volunteer firefighter — 30 — is the lowest reported. “…(It) maintains the general downward trend seen since 1999…”

“The number of on-duty deaths of volunteer firefighters in 2012 is approximately half the average number reported just 10 years ago. The trend for career firefighters has been relatively flat over the past 10 years, although the trend has been downward since 2009. This is the third consecutive year that the total for career firefighters has been 25 or lower,” they noted.

The report also highlighted a number of findings:

 

  • Lowest number of sudden cardiac deaths
  • Lowest number of deaths at structure fires
  • Lowest number of volunteer firefighter deaths
  • Fourth consecutive year the total number of road vehicle crash deaths has been 10 or lower
  • Fifth consecutive year of decreasing on-duty cardiac-related deaths
The number of sudden cardiac deaths is the lowest since the NFPA started calculating records in 1977, and the fifth year showing a decline, the report showed.
“The number of deaths in this category has fallen significantly since the early years of this study. From 1977 through 1986, an average of 60 on-duty firefighters a year suffered sudden cardiac deaths (44.7 percent of the on-duty deaths during that period)…The average number of deaths fell to 44 a year in the 1990s and to 37 in the past decade.
In spite of this reduction, sudden cardiac death still accounted for 42 percent of the on-duty deaths in the last five years. Overall, sudden cardiac death is the number one cause of on-duty firefighter fatalities in the U.S. and almost always accounts for the largest share of deaths in any given year.
 The firefighters who died in 2012 ranged in age from 17 to 79, with a median age of 49 years, researchers noted adding that sudden cardiac death accounted for a higher proportion of the deaths among older personnel as might be expected.

Statistics also showed that almost 60 percent of the firefighters over age 40 and all over 60, died of heart attacks or other cardiac events. And, the youngest person who died from a cardiac issue was just 24.

thanks Chris

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National study discusses personnel for high-rise fires

Apr 11

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This from Bill Post:

Yesterday the National Institute of Standards and Technology released a high rise fire fighting  study at the Metropolitan Fire Chiefs conference meeting in Phoenix Arizona. The Chicago Fire Fighters Union Local 2 has already cited it in an effort at negotiations with the city as to why the Chicago Fire Department can’t afford to cut crew size.

The Chicago Fire Department’s union chief on Wednesday brandished a new federal report on fighting high-rise fires to push back against potential job cuts as part of protracted labor negotiations with Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration.

The study by the U.S. Commerce Department, the national firefighters union and other organizations focused on response times to blazes in 13-story buildings and found that crews of five or six firefighters put out fires and conducted search-and-rescue operations “significantly faster” than three-person or four-person teams.

The Fire Department contract that lapsed in June requires five firefighters per truck, but Emanuel has left open the possibility of reducing staffing levels. There has been little progress in negotiations since then, but firefighters must work under the old rules for now.

While most of Chicago’s high-rises are concentrated downtown and along the lakefront, Firefighters Union Local 2 President Thomas Ryan argued that other large buildings like schools and factories are found throughout the city and present many of the same challenges. He argued that the report “scientifically proves what we’ve been saying for years” and said cutting the number of firefighters at any firehouse in the city would put the public at risk.

Administration spokesman Bill McCaffrey said high-rise fires are relatively infrequent, so the report represents “a very small portion of properties and fires in the city.”

“And Chicago has highly skilled and well-equipped high-rise response teams, a recently rewritten high-rise response protocol and strict requirements for fire safety in high-rises — these are the most critical factors in maintaining safety in high-rises in Chicago,” McCaffrey said in an email.

Information about the study can be found HERE. Excerpts from the press release:

Landmark High-Rise Fire Study Evaluates Effectiveness of Crew Sizes, Elevator Use

PHOENIX – When responding to fires in high-rise buildings, firefighting crews of five or six members—instead of three or four—are significantly faster in putting out fires and completing search-and-rescue operations, concludes a major new study* carried out by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), in cooperation with five other organizations.

Results of the study, carried out with 13 Washington, D.C.-area fire departments, were presented today at the 2013 Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Conference in Phoenix.

“Unlike most house fires, high-rise fires are high-hazard situations that pose unique operational challenges to fire service response. How big a fire gets and how much danger it poses to occupants and firefighters are largely determined by crew size and how personnel are deployed at the scene,” says lead researcher Jason Averill, a NIST fire protection engineer. “It’s not simply that larger crews have more people. Larger crews are deployed differently and, as a result, are able to perform required tasks more quickly.”

An analysis of 14 “critical tasks”—those undertaken when potential risks to building occupants and firefighters are greatest—found that three-member crews took almost 12 minutes longer than crews of four, 21 minutes longer than crews of five, and 23 minutes longer than crews of six to complete all tasks. Four-person crews took nine minutes and 11 minutes longer than five- and six-member crews, respectively.

The study also looked at the effect of using fire service access elevators to move firefighters and equipment up to the staging floor and concluded that most tasks were started two to four minutes faster when using the elevators compared with using the stairs.

On the basis of the results of computer modeling, which incorporate data from live experimental burns, the study team concluded that smaller crews end up facing larger fires because of the additional time required to complete tasks.

A three-person crew, for example, would battle a medium-growing blaze that is almost 60 percent larger than the fire faced by a six-member crew, which would start extinguishing a fire roughly three-and-one-half minutes earlier. In an office building, this difference is equivalent to four employee cubicles on fire for a three-person crew versus two cubicles for a six-person crew.

Comparing the performances of different-sized crews, the researchers found that adding two members to three- and four-person teams would result in the largest improvements in starting and completing critical tasks, such as advancing the water hose to the fire location and beginning search and rescue. Improvements ranged from one minute to 25 minutes, depending on the task.

The research team also evaluated whether dispatching more three or four-member crews to a high rise fire—accomplished by sounding a higher initial alarm—would be as effective as sending a low first alarm contingent of engines and trucks staffed by more firefighters. They found that a “low-alarm response with crews of size four or five outperforms a high-alarm response with crew sizes smaller by one firefighter.”

“Prior to this experiment, some fire departments attempted to deploy with smaller crews on each piece of apparatus,” explains Lori Moore-Merrell of the International Association of Fire Fighters, a co-principal investigator for the study. “The logic suggested that, if the fire is big enough, just send more units, but it ignores the fact that larger crews have tactical advantages that reduce risk exposure to people and firefighters. Crews of six and even five can carry out crucial tasks in parallel rather than in series. Saving time can save occupant lives and prevent firefighter injuries and property damage.”

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) defines high-rises as buildings that are seven stories or taller, the height that exceeds most types of fire service ladders. In most U.S. communities, new high- rises are required to have automated sprinkler systems, which are designed to control the spread of fires, not to extinguish them.

But according to the NFPA, 41 percent of U.S. high-rise office buildings, 45 percent of high-rise hotels, and 54 percent of high-rise apartment buildings are not equipped with sprinklers, as compared with 25 percent of hospitals and related facilities. Moreover, sprinkler systems fail in about one in 14 fires.

While much less frequent than house fires, about 43 high-rise fires occur in the United States every day. Between 2005 and 2009, according to the NFPA, high-rise structure fires averaged 15,700 annually. Average annual losses totaled 53 civilian deaths, 546 civilian injuries and $235 million in property damage.

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