Heart attacks and motor-vehicle crashes cause more line-of-duty firefighter deaths than smoke, heat, flames or collapsing buildings, according to an analysis of firefighter deaths in 2002 by the National Fire Protection Association.

A total of 97 firefighters died on the job in 2002, roughly the same number as in each of the previous nine years, excluding the 340 deaths at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. In eight of the last 10 years, fewer than half of all LODDs occurred within the building or land area where the fire was burning.

In 2002, 51 firefighter deaths occurred while traveling to or from an emergency, during training activities, during non-emergency duties such as administration or equipment maintenance, and during non-fire emergencies such as medical calls or motor-vehicle crashes.

During the year, 37 on-duty firefighters died of heart attacks: 13 on the fireground, eight while traveling to or from a fire or other emergency, seven while engaged in normal administrative activities, six at non-fire emergencies, two during training activities, and one while cleaning up after a tornado. In addition, two firefighters had strokes during training activities and one suffered an aneurysm at a medical call.

Motor vehicles were another major cause of death with 29 fatalities. Twenty-two firefighters were killed in crashes and seven were struck by vehicles, all while on duty. In the most catastrophic incident, five firefighters were killed and six injured when a 15-passenger van overturned on its way to a wildland fire. On average, almost one-fifth of deaths occurred in motor vehicle crashes.

Other noteworthy findings in the new report include:

• Last year 22 firefighters died while working at or responding to wildland fires or a controlled burn.
• Firefighters older than 50 accounted for 40% of all firefighter deaths from 1998 through 2002, although that age group makes up less than 17% of all firefighters.
• Nonresidential structures, except for health and educational facilities, are more dangerous to firefighters than homes. The highest death rates occurred in vacant building and buildings under construction.