A study released by the International Association of Fire Fighters examining fire service line-of-duty deaths that occurred from 2000 through 2005 finds that more than half of those deaths can be attributed to health-related factors. “This is a stark reminder that many firefighter deaths are preventable,” said IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger.

The retrospective study compiled LODD data from the National Fire Protection Association, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the U.S. Fire Administration and the International Association of Fire Fighters. For each of the 644 cases with sufficient information to be included in the study, factors contributing to the death were determined from federal investigations and eyewitness reports. The contributing factors then were analyzed for frequency of occurrence and clustering with other factors.

The study found the dominant contributing factor to LODD was health/fitness/wellness, which was determined to be a contributing factor in 54% of the cases. Personal protective equipment (19%) and human error (also 19%) were the next two leading contributing factors.

Cluster analysis revealed where the contributing factors occurred together frequently. Four main clusters were identified with these contributing factors. Cluster 1 included incident command, training, communications, standard operating procedures and pre-incident planning. Cluster 2 included vehicles, personal protective equipment, equipment failure and human error. Cluster 3 included privately owned vehicles, accidents and civilian error. Cluster 4 included company staffing, operating guidelines and health/fitness/wellness.

The IAFF study concludes "97.5% of all firefighter LODD occurring between the years of 2000–2005 are attributable to an identifiable cluster of contributing factors. Approximately half of all firefighter LODD that occurred between these years are attributable to a cluster of three factors that are under the direct control of the individual firefighter and chief officers. The information revealed in this study imposes a considerable burden on decision-makers and fire service leaders as well as firefighters themselves. It offers substantial guidance for shaping local fire department policy decisions and operational priorities.”

The full study is available for download in PDF format at the IAFF Web site.