HEATHER CASPI
Firehouse.Com News
Also See: Foundation's Task For Memorial, Enormous
Terrorism at the World Trade Center in New York City made 2001 the most devastating year in U.S. history for firefighter, EMT and paramedic deaths, causing more than four times the losses that would have been expected based on the statistics of past years.
AP Photo/Louis Lanzano
Firefighters carry a flag-draped body from the debris field of the World Trade Center disaster site, as recovery efforts continue, Monday, Dec. 31, 2001, in New York.
|
Between 1995 and 2000 there was an average of 97 deaths per year. In 2001, a total of 441 lost their lives in the line of duty, as reported by the United States Fire Administration; 346 at the World Trade Center, and 98 at other tragedies around the country.
The following information is a preliminary look at last year's data. A final, comprehensive analysis of these deaths will be released by the USFA in the coming months. Numbers and interpretation may change as further information becomes available to the USFA.
Firefighter deaths per year since 1995
• 1995 - 96
• 1996 - 95
• 1997 - 94
• 1998 - 91
• 1999 - 112
• 2000 - 95
• 2001 - 441
Causes of Death
The causes of the 343 deaths reported from the World Trade Center are listed by the USFA as "Struck By/Contact with Object," because of the falling debris and devastating collapses of the towers. These deaths include 340 FDNY firefighters and officers, two FDNY paramedics, and FDNY Chaplain Mychal Judge.
Judge was the first official FDNY fatality of the World Trade Center incident, and one of the most widely known. The priest, beloved by firefighters in the department, removed his helmet to administer last rites to a firefighter who had just been hit by a falling body, when he too was stuck by debris.
Never before has the country seen the loss of such leadership in the fire service. In addition to Judge, FDNY suffered the loss of some its most senior officials. These included First Deputy Commissioner William Feehan and Chief of Department Peter J Ganci. Another high level loss was Battalion Chief Raymond Downey of Special Operations, a top world expert on search and rescue. With the department's command structure in shambles, 168 firefighters were promoted at a somber ceremony on September 16 to fill the voids left by the fallen leaders.
Apart from the World Trade Center tragedy, the leading cause of firefighter line of duty deaths in 2001 remained Stress/Exertion, claiming at least 34 firefighters, or 35 percent of 98 deaths. These firefighters were between the ages of 27 and 78, with an average age of 55, and were all listed as heart attack victims. The stress/exertion category can also include deaths due to CVA or heart failure.
In 2000 there were 30 stress/exertion deaths, or 32 percent of the total 95 deaths. In 1999 there were 54 deaths in this category, or 49 percent of the total 112 deaths.
The next leading cause of death in 2001 was injuries suffered at structure fires, with a total of 16. This is a change from 2000 when structure fire deaths came to 10, and took a back seat to deaths in motor vehicle accidents and at wildfires.
Eleven firefighters died of smoke inhalation or burns when they became trapped in burning structures. This includes two firefighters who fell through collapsing floors, one who was caught by falling debris, and FDNY's Brian Fahey, one of those killed at the Father's Day hardware store fire.
Photo By Peter Mathews
The facade of the building that took the lives of three New York City firefighters. The Explosion and fire that claimed their lives, left famalies without fathers on Fathers Day.
|
Fahey was inside the store when propane tanks and paint exploded in the basement. He fell through the floor and into the basement, where he was trapped for several hours and sustained critical burns.
Three firefighters were killed by internal trauma when structures collapsed on them. This includes the two other firefighters killed in New York City's Father's Day fire, John Downing and Harry Ford.
Downing and Ford were venting windows when the blast occurred inside the structure, and the facade of the burning building fell on them.
The two other deaths due to injuries at structure fires include one firefighter who became trapped and died of asphyxiation when his air tank ran empty, and one who suffered a severe electric shock which caused cardiac complications and eventual death.
There were 12 deaths at wildfires in 2001, which follows the trend of recent years. In 2000 there were 13 wildfire deaths. However, 1999 saw an unusually high number with 18 wildfire deaths.
Six of these firefighters died in aircraft crashes and five suffered burns when they were overrun by fire. These include Crew Chief Tom L. Craven and young firefighters Karen L. Fitzpatrick, 18, Jessica L. Johnson, 19, and Devin A. Weaver, 21. They were overcome in July at the Thirty Mile Fire in Washington when it rapidly grew from five acres to over 2500 acres in two hours.
Another firefighter was struck by a falling tree while fighting a wildfire.
There were eleven deaths due to motor vehicle accidents that occurred in apparatus or firefighter's personal vehicles, during emergency responses. This is down from 13 of these deaths in 2000.
Three of the firefighters were killed in separate incidents where the tankers they were riding in lost control and either overturned or left the roadway.
Another firefighter was killed when the front tire of his apparatus blew out, causing it to leave the roadway and strike a tree head-on.
The other seven firefighters in this category were killed during accidents in their own vehicles while responding to calls.
In addition to those killed in motor vehicle accidents, five firefighters were killed while directing traffic at emergencies. Four of them were hit by passing vehicles, while one firefighter slipped and became trapped under a fire engine while spotting the driver as he backed out the engine.
Four firefighters were killed during training accidents in 2001, which is significantly down from the eight lost in training in 2000.
Photo Courtesy King 5.com, Seattle, WA
Four firefighters were killed after battling this fast moving wildfire in a rugged area of the North Cascades.
|
One of them was overcome by rapidly moving fire in an abandoned house while practicing search and rescue. Another firefighter died during dive rescue training, and one drowned while practicing whitewater skills. The last died when he fell 65 feet from an aerial ladder.
Three other firefighters also died due to falls.
One fell down a flight of steps at the firehouse, one fell in a fire department sub-station while performing maintenance work on the plumbing, and another fell from a 15-foot extension ladder while working on a fixture in the apparatus bay.
Also, two additional firefighters drowned while on duty. Assistant Chief Anthony Murdick and Firefighter/Paramedic Scott Wilson drowned while trying to reach the trapped body of a kayaker at McConnell's Mill State Park in Pennsylvania.
Three deaths fell outside the usual categories.
One firefighter was hit by a tree when performing storm-watch duties during a tornado warning. Another suffered blunt trauma when a 4000-pound tree fell on the cab of her medic unit.
Firefighter Kirk Schafer of the North Central Fire District in Kerman, CA, was filling a new fire truck's tanks with water from a hydrant when a nearby 300-pound pressurized tank, for reasons still to be determined, had a catastrophic failure. It rocketed into the air and landed on the fire truck that Schafer was servicing. Debris from the tank or the fire truck struck Schafer in the head and killed him.
The final category claiming eight firefighters, was illness or undetermined causes. These include one firefighter who died from an abnormal heart rhythm and several who collapsed, for reasons still undetermined or unlisted.
Multiple Fatality Incidents
In addition to the World Trade Center, the largest multiple firefighter fatality incident in history, there were seven incidents in 2001 that took several firefighters' lives at one time, resulting in a total of 18 deaths. This is up from the numbers in 2000, when five multiple fatality incidents claimed a total of 10 lives.
Three of the multiple fatality incidents were related to wildfires.
Santi Arovitx, Rich Hernandez, and Kip Krigbaum died in a helicopter crash while fighting a wildfire near Emigrant Peak; California's Larry Groff and Lars Stratte were each flying air tankers that collided mid-air; and Crew Chief Tom L. Craven and three of his young rookies were killed when they were overrun by the Thirty Mile Fire.
Three of the other multiple fatality incidents were related to structure fires.
John Downing, Brian Fahey and Harry Ford were killed in the Father's Day hardware store fire in New York; David J. Mullaney and Frank E. Whitby were trapped by a flashover in a Missouri house fire; and Firefighter Mike McKean and Lieutenant Clint Talley were trapped and killed while fighting a fire in the basement of an Illinois ranch style house.
Photo by Mary L. Otto
James F. Isberner's gear sits in front of the Montello Joint Fire District station as a tribute to his memory. James died of an apparent heart attack suffered while battling a structure fire February 12, 2001.
|
The remaining multiple fatality incident was an attempted water rescue. Assistant Chief Anthony Murdick and Firefighter/Paramedic Scott Wilson drowned while trying to reach the trapped body of a kayaker in Pennsylvania.
Additional Details
The youngest firefighter to die in 2001 was 18-year-old Karen L. Fitzpatrick, who was overrun with several of her crew members by the Thirty Mile Fire. In 2000, a 17-year-old firefighter was killed in a motor vehicle accident while responding to an alarm.
The oldest firefighters to die in 2001 were George F. Danielson Jr., Bob Marsh, and Clarence Kreitzer, all 78 years old. Marsh and Kreitzer suffered heart attacks. Danielson was struck by a vehicle while directing traffic in front of the firehouse. In 2000, there were two firefighters who died on duty at the age of 80.
Five of the firefighter deaths in 2001 were women, compared to three deaths in 2000.
Karen L. Fitzpatrick and Jessica L. Johnson were overrun by the Thirty Mile Fire; Cynthia Verburg of the Clayton, Ohio Fire Department suffered blunt trauma from a 4000-pound tree falling on cab of her Medic unit; Nancy Roberts of the Willow Creek Volunteer Fire Department in CA drowned while practicing whitewater skills on the Trinity River; and Betty Dennis of the Fire and Rescue Assoc. Inc. of Centerville, NC was hit by a vehicle while directing traffic at the scene of an accident.
Of the 441 firefighters who died in the line of duty in 2001, 348 were members of the FDNY, 34 were paid firefighters of other departments or wildland agencies, and 59 were volunteer firefighters.
Related:
