By FireRescue1 Staff
QUINCY, Mass. — The number of firefighter injuries dropped in 2009 compared to the previous year, according to the NFPA.
An estimated 78,150 total injuries represent a 1.9 percent decrease from the year before, the annual U.S. Firefighter Injuries report said.
The fireground was the most common location where the line-of-duty injuries occurred, accounting for 41.2 percent.
The most frequent type of injury on the fireground was strain, sprain or muscular pain representing 48.2 percent of injuries, followed by wounds, cuts, bleeding and bruises at 13.2 percent.
The Northeast was the region with the highest fireground injury rate.
Other key findings in the report include:
- Smoke or gas inhalation was responsible for 6.2 percent of injuries on the fireground
- Strains, sprains, and muscular pain accounted for 58.9 percent of all nonfireground firefighter injuries
- The leading causes of fireground injuries were overexertion and strains, responsible for 25.2 percent, and falls, slips, and jumps, responsible for 22.7 percent
The report recommends implementing programs for the installation of private fire protection systems to help discover fires at an earlier stage and expose firefighters to a less hostile environment.
In addition, the NFPA made recommendations for fire departments to continue to improve firefighter safety, including:
- Top fire service management should establish a safety committee headed by a safety officer to recommend a safety policy and plan implementation
- Develop and use an investigation procedure for all accidents, near misses, injuries, fatalities, occupational illnesses, and exposures involving fire department members should be developed and implemented
- Ensure firefighters have proper PPE and medical evaluations
- Develop a program for use and maintenance of critical equipment like SCBA and fire apparatus
- Have enough personnel on hand for both firefighting and overhaul duties
- Have an incident management system