The physical challenges of firefighting continued to claim lives in December.

On Dec. 22, a 48-year-old volunteer with the Blenheim (S.C.) Fire Department responded to a motor-vehicle accident. While at the scene, he began to feel sick and was taken to hospital in Bennettsville. Subsequently, the volunteer was transported by ambulance to the hospital in Florence, S.C, where he went into cardiac arrest and died.

Five days later, a 54 year-old member of the Princeton Junction Volunteer Fire Co. #1 (New Jersey) died of a heart attack. He had attended a fire alarm, then returned home where he collapsed.

On Dec. 30, a 79-year-old volunteer with the East Pembroke Fire Department (NY) suffered an apparent heart attack while assisting at the scene of a motor-vehicle accident. He was transported to the hospital but all efforts to revive him were unsuccessful.

According to the U.S. Fire Administration, there were 106 firefighter fatalities in the first 11 months of 2008. Of these, 45 were caused by “stress/overexertion”; leading to fatal events like heart attacks. The complete report can found here.