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HEATHER CASEY
Firehouse.Com News
In 2000, 95 firefighters died in the line of duty as reported by the
United States Fire Administration. A final, comprehensive analysis of these deaths will be
released by the USFA in the coming months. The following information is a
preliminary look at last year’s data. Numbers and interpretation may change
as further information becomes available to the USFA.
This year’s total of 95 deaths follows the trend set over the past few
years, except 1999, which saw an unusual high of 112 firefighter deaths.
- 1995 - 96
- 1996 - 95
- 1997 - 94
- 1998 - 91
- 1999 - 112
Cause of Death
Photo By Andy Biron
The fire scene where David Anderson of the Manchester, NH Fire Department, passed away
after a rescue attempt on December 23, 2000.
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Stress/exertion remained the leading cause of line of duty deaths in 2000,
claiming 30 firefighters, or 32 percent of the total deaths. All of these
deaths were attributed to heart attacks except for one CVA and one heart
failure. These firefighters were between the ages of 27 and 80, with the
average age being 55.6. In 1999, there were 54 deaths in this category, or
49 percent of the total 112 deaths.
Motor vehicle accidents accounted for 13 deaths in 2000. These occurred on
the way to or from emergencies, in apparatus or firefighter’s personal
vehicles. In 1999, 10 firefighters died from injuries sustained in motor
vehicle accidents.
Deaths at wildfires came to 13. Despite the intense wildfire activity over
the summer, this number is down from 1999’s unusually high total of 18. Six
firefighters were lost in aircraft crashes and four suffered burns. Two were
hit by lightning, and one was hit by debris from an exploding tank.
Deaths at structure fires, excluding those caused by stress or illness,
totaled 10 last year. Three succumbed to burns, five succumbed to smoke
inhalation, and two firefighters suffered internal trauma after a roof
collapse. The two who died in the collapse were Kimberly Smith and Lewis
Mayo III of the Houston, Texas Fire Department, who died in a McDonald’s
restaurant fire while searching for an injured firefighter.
Eight firefighters were lost during training exercises in 2000, while only
three died during training in 1999. Two died during dive sessions and two
suffered burns during prescribed fires. One was struck by apparatus, one was
hit by a hose during a hose test, and one smokejumper died after a parachute
malfunction. Finally, one firefighter was accidentally shot during a
S.W.A.T. Team training maneuver.
AP World Wide Photos/Pat Sullivan
Houston firefighters take a moment outside a McDonalds restaurant where two firefighters
were killed when the roof collapsed on the burning building on Feb. 14, 2000.
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Four firefighters were struck by vehicles. Three were hit by traffic, and
one was hit by a moving ladder truck he was attempting to board. In 1999
three firefighters were struck by vehicles.
Three firefighters were murdered in 2000. William Blakemore and Lt. Javier
Lerma, of the Memphis Fire Department in Tennessee, were shot to death while
responding to a residential fire. Jamie Quinones, of the Waterbury Fire
Department in Connecticut, was shot as the result of a domestic dispute,
while participating in a Muscular Dystrophy "Fill the Boot" charity event.
Three firefighters died after falling. One fell during an arson
investigation, one fell while performing maintenance activities, and another
fell off apparatus in a storage area.
Two firefighters died enroute to perform fire prevention education. Pilot
David Tim Newman and Crew Chief Mike Fossett, of the North Carolina Division
of Forest Resources, died in a helicopter crash on their way to a school
field day activity where they were supposed to serve as a fire prevention
display.
One firefighter drowned while attempting a water rescue. Robert Crump, of
the Denver Fire Department in Colorado, was swept into a storm sewer drain.
Five firefighters died of illness while on duty.
The cause of three firefighters’ deaths are currently undetermined or
unlisted. Two collapsed at the scene of fire incidents, and a third died of
possible complications from injuries sustained at an incident.
Multiple Fatality Incidents
There were five multiple fatality incidents in 2000, resulting in a total of
10 deaths. Each incident took no more than two firefighters. These numbers
are down from the previous two years. In 1999 there were six multi-fatality
incidents, resulting in 18 deaths, including the six firefighters who died
at one incident in Worcester, Mass. in December. In 1998 there were 10
incidents, resulting in 22 deaths
AP World Wide Photos/Rodney White
A red rose sits on a cinder block at the site of the blast that killed 25 year old
Winterset, IA firefighter Jim Griffith.
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In 2000, two firefighters were shot in Tennessee, two were electrocuted by
lightning in Utah, two died in a helicopter crash in North Carolina, two
died in helicopter crash in New Mexico, and two died in a roof collapse at a
structure fire in Texas.
Other Details
The youngest firefighter to die in 2000 was 17-year-old Nathan Pescatore, of
the Lloydsville Volunteer Fire Department in Latrobe, Penn. He died from
injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident while he was enroute to the
fire station to respond to an alarm.
The oldest firefighters to die in the line of duty were two who were 80.
Fire Photographer George H. Cardozo of the Westport Volunteer Fire
Department in Connecticut succumbed to an apparent heart attack after
feeling ill at the scene of a structure fire. Kenneth Jesse of the Harford
Volunteer Fire Company in Pennsylvania suffered a heart attack after
performing fire police officer duties at a vehicle fire.
Three of the 95 fatalities last year were women. Gail VanAuken of the
Overisel Fire Department in Holland, Michigan, died after the tanker she was
riding in was struck by another vehicle. Lisa A. Farrow of Engelhard Fire
and Rescue in North Carolina collapsed at a house fire, and died of acute
hypoxia due to pulmonary edema. Kimberly Smith of the Houston, Texas Fire
Department died in a collapse at a structure fire along with firefighter
Lewis Mayo III. In 1999 there were two female firefighter deaths.
Of the 95 firefighters who died in 2000, 53 were volunteers and 42 were
career firefighters.
Firehouse.com News will publish the USFA official report when it becomes
available.
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