NFPA report: firefighter injuries down eight percent from 2009

Firefighters suffered 71,875 injuries in the line of duty last year, an eight percent decrease from 2009 and a two-decade low, according to the new NFPA report “U.S. Firefighter Injuries”. The report takes a look at the number of 2010 firefighter injuries, injuries by type of duty, exposures to infectious diseases, and how a community’s size affects the number of injuries within a fire department.

Key findings from the report:

• An estimated 15,000 injuries, or 20.8 percent of all firefighter injuries, resulted in lost time from work in 2010.
• In addition to injuries, there were 11,200 exposures to infectious diseases and 25,700 exposures to hazardous conditions.
• The Northeast reported a higher number of fire ground injuries per 100 fires (sustained from structure fires, vehicle fires, and brush fires) than other regions of the country.
• Almost half (45 percent) of all firefighter injuries occurred during fire ground operations. An estimated 13,355 occurred at non-fire emergencies, 4,380 while responding to or returning from an incident, 7,275 during training activities, and 14,190 during other on-duty activities.

Read more, download NFPA's "U.S. Firefighter Injuries" report.