By FireRescue1 Staff
At least 10 percent of firefighter deaths during the last decade occurred during training-related activities, according to a new study released by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).
The report found that 100 firefighters died during training from 1996 to 2005. While the overall number of line-of-duty deaths has declined, the proportion of line-of-duty deaths that occurred during training has increased substantially.
Of those 100 fallen firefighters, 47 were local volunteer firefighters, 39 were local career firefighters, and the remaining 14 were from other organizations.
With thousands of fire departments currently focusing on emergency vehicle safety during the 2006 International Firefighter Safety Stand Down, it’s important to note that 36 of the firefighters that died during training while participating in apparatus and equipment drills. Twenty-one of those 36 deaths were attributed to sudden cardiac arrest.
The second largest number of training deaths during the decade-long study occurred during physical fitness training. Thirty firefighters died when they were simply trying to promote health. Twenty-three of those 30 deaths were caused by sudden cardiac arrest.
Sudden cardiac death (usually heart attacks) is the number one cause of firefighter fatalities overall and the same is true for those during training. Just over half of the firefighters who died while training during the 10-year period died due to cardiac events. According to the study, sudden cardiac death was responsible for 53 of the 100 deaths.
“Training is an essential part of fire department operations and it is worrisome that the training proportion of firefighter deaths has increased,” said Rita F. Fahy, Ph.D., manager of fire databases and systems for NFPA. “Firefighting is a dangerous profession and to see deaths occurring due to activities that are meant to prevent death and injury is distressing.
“It is our hope that this 10-year study will help prevent future deaths by identifying areas where training safety can be improved,” said Fahy.
NFPA publishes a range of standards that provide guidelines for safely conducting firefighter training and address health issues. NFPA 1403, Standard on Live Fire Training Evolutions describes a process for conducting live fire training evolutions to ensure that they are conducted in safe facilities and that the exposure to health and safety hazards for the firefighters receiving the training is minimized. NFPA 1582, Standard on Comprehensive Occupational Medical Program for Fire Departments contains descriptive requirements for a comprehensive occupational medical program.
Download the entire report in PDF format here and visit NFPA’s Web site at www.nfpa.org.