One hundred and eleven firefighters died while on duty in 2003, an 11% increase over the 100 deaths recorded in 2002, according to figures released Tuesday by the U.S. Fire Administration. With 29 of those deaths in wildland fires, it was the deadliest year for wildland firefighters since 1994, when the Storm King killed 14 firefighters in Colorado, bringing the year's total to 36.

Fire service leaders were not excluded; 17 of the fatalities were fire department executives or chief officers (listed as chief, assistant chief, deputy chief, battalion chief, district chief or president); and two of the fatalities were listed as training officers. Heart attack continues to be the leading cause of death for all firefighters, killing 53 firefighters last year, followed by trauma, which took 44 firefighter lives.

According to a review of the deaths, 36 states and Guam saw at least one firefighter die last year, and 20 firefighters died in seven multiple fatality incidents:

• Eight Oregon firefighters were killed in a vehicle accident as they returned from fighting wildland fires;

• Two Memphis firefighters died while fighting a fire in a business in June;

• Two Idaho firefighters were killed in July when a wildland fire spread quickly and trapped them;

• Two firefighters died as a result of a helicopter crash in Arizona in July;

• Two Ohio firefighters were killed while operating at a silo fire in October;

• Two Nevada-based firefighters were killed in an October airtanker crash in California; and

• Two Oregon firefighters died in a helicopter crash in October.

• Some other facts gathered from 2003's preliminary reports include:

• Volunteer, seasonal and part-time firefighters accounted for 80 deaths; full-time career firefighters, comprised 30 deaths (27%) in 2003;

• The majority of firefighter fatalities in 2003 (59%) occurred in relation to a fire or EMS incident;

• 60% of the firefighters who died suffered fatal injuries or illnesses in emergency situations;

• 30 firefighters died on the scene of a fire; 11 died at the scene of nonfire incidents

• 22 firefighters died as they responded to an emergency or returned from one, many of these deaths involved vehicle collisions;

• 11 deaths occurred during training;

• The youngest firefighters to die were two 16-year-olds; the oldest was 81;

• Not since 1994 when 36 firefighters died in association with wildland fires, including 14 firefighters who died on Storm King Mountain in Colorado on July 6, 1994, have so many firefighters perished in wildland incidents.
  

The USFA collects and analyzes information about firefighter deaths each year to determine trends, make recommendations for further research or to propose changes in procedures that may serve to reduce fatalities in the future.

These statistics are provisional, the USFA says, and may vary slightly as new reports surface. See the complete Provisional Report on On-Duty Firefighter Fatalities in the United States for more details.

“The sacrifice of this nation’s firefighters is heartbreakingly real, directly affecting their communities and departments – and especially the families they leave behind,” said Michael D. Brown, the Department of Homeland Security's under secretary for Emergency Preparedness and Response. “As President Bush has noted, these men and women are the front lines of homeland defense. We mourn the loss of these heroes.”

R. David Paulison, the administrator of the U.S. Fire Administration, part of FEMA, pledged to continue his efforts to reduce the number of firefighters who die each year.

“Firefighters continue to give their lives while serving their communities. In 2003, President Bush signed a bill into law that will provide benefits to the survivors of firefighters who suffer heart attacks and die in the line of duty,” said Paulison. “We are thankful to the President and Congress for this benefit, but I earnestly hope that the efforts of the USFA will ensure those benefits are used less and less each year.”
In response to requests by fire service training officers, the USFA began updating its summary reports on firefighter fatalities monthly in 2003. See the USFA Fallen Firefighters page for monthly updates on firefighter fatalities in 2004.