Reports Show Decrease in Firefighter Response Deaths

The good news – fatal crashes involving firefighters in 2015 were the second lowest in the past 39 years. And, they were not the second leading cause of responder deaths, NFPA data shows.

The bad news – they are still occurring across the country, and the cause is usually the same.

After investigating fatal apparatus crashes, NIOSH officials issue the cause as well as a list of recommendations. A review of reports shows the factors are the same regardless whether there's a career or volunteer behind the wheel. 

Among the suggestions made by NIOSH investigators have included:

• Ensure that firefighters and officers are trained in maintaining safe control of responding fire apparatus
• Ensure that SOPs on seat belt use are enforced
• Provide training to driver/operators as often as necessary to meet the requirements of NFPA 1451, 1500, and 1002, with specific training on intersections and difficult road conditions
• Ensure that drivers have experience in the class of vehicle they are expected to operate
• Consider rollover protection for the crew areas of fire apparatus when upgrading or purchasing new apparatus
• Ensure that written standard operating procedures (SOPs) regarding seat belt use are established and enforced 
• Ensure that firefighters use extreme caution while responding through intersections by coming to a full stop before entering a negative right-of-way intersection (red light, flashing red light, or stop sign) and by accounting for all lanes of traffic before proceeding through the intersection
• Consider upgrading, retiring, or replacing older fire apparatus
• Consider rollover protection for the crew areas of fire apparatus when upgrading or purchasing new apparatus

They also suggest that fire apparatus manufacturers, researchers, and standard setting bodies “continue to improve safety standards and designs for increased crashworthiness of compartments for firefighter survivability in rollover crashes.”

The USFA reported that in 2014, five firefighters died from trauma caused by a vehicle crash while responding to an incident. Of the five deaths, the status of seat belt usage is known in three cases. Two firefighters were wearing proper seat restraints and the third, where the firefighter was fully ejected from the vehicle, was not. All five vehicle crashes involved fire department vehicles.

• One firefighter was responding to a motor vehicle crash in his fire department pickup. He lost control in icy conditions and crashed. Although he was conscious and alert following the crash, he developed medical complications from injuries received in the crash and, after being placed in a medically induced coma, passed away.
• One firefighter was driving a tanker (tender) to a wildland fire. He was involved in a collision with a brush truck responding to the same incident. The tanker rolled on its side as a result of the crash, and the firefighter had to be extricated. He was transported to the hospital and then to a regional care facility specializing in traumatic brain injuries but succumbed to his injuries.
• One firefighter was driving the department’s 2,500-gallon tanker (tender) to a fire alarm incident. The apparatus left the roadway to the right and went into a ditch. The apparatus struck a culvert and rolled over. The firefighter, who was wearing a seat belt, was killed in the crash.
• One firefighter was responding in a command vehicle to a report of a fully involved residence. During the response, the firefighter passed traffic on the left. The wheels of his vehicle left the roadway and struck a driveway or culvert. The command vehicle rolled several times, and the firefighter was ejected. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
• One firefighter was driving a 2,000-gallon fire department tanker (tender) in a non-emergency mode to a structure fire incident. The tanker entered a sharp curve and crossed the center line of the roadway into oncoming traffic. The firefighter attempted to correct by steering, but the back end of the tanker came around. The tanker struck or was struck by an oncoming fully loaded log truck. The firefighter and the driver of the log truck were both killed in the crash. A passenger in the log truck received serious injuries. All three vehicle occupants required extrication. The speed at which the tanker was being operated was cited as a factor in the law enforcement report.

National Fallen Firefighters’ Foundation Executive Director Ron Siarnicki said a number of factors are likely responsible for the decline.

The safety of fire apparatus was selected as one of the 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives.

“Manufacturers are paying attention to safety when they design the apparatus. Also, the use of seat belts is making a difference,” he said. Siarnicki said his staff and other fire service officials promote the International Seat Belt Pledge.

“New technologies and innovations are available that can significantly reduce the potential for injury and deaths related to fire service apparatus and equipment failures or shortcomings. It is important to understand, and explore the technologies and innovations available today. We must also consider the best practices that can be implemented to improve fire fighter safety, thereby reducing the potential for injury and death. The 16th Initiative ratifies the belief that no firefighter should die in the line-of-duty due to apparatus or equipment-related issues,” according to the NFFF.

Siarnicki encourages firefighters as well as those intending to purchase or design a rig to visit Everyone Goes Home for information.

A comprehensive NFPA study of crashes between 1998 and 2007 showed there were 148 deaths in 133 crashes. Of those, 110 were drivers, and 38 were passengers.

The number of deaths annually ranged from a low of 10 in 1998 and 2006 to a high of 25 in 2003 and 2007. Crashes, including collisions and rollovers, consistently accounted for the second largest share of firefighter deaths, overall, researchers noted.

They also referred to data collected by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that showed that from 1997 through 2006, the majority of the victims - 94 - were civilians whose vehicles were involved in crashes with fire apparatus. Nine were firefighters.

The NHTSA report also reflected that “in other multiple vehicle crashes where the fire apparatus was NOT in emergency use, 33 of the victims were occupants of the other vehicles and one was a firefighter. Over that period, crashes involving fire department apparatus killed 21 pedestrians and five bicyclists.”

The NFPA research showed four out of five of the crashes and fatalities occurred while firefighters were responding to or returning from alarms. Also, the majority of the firefighters killed in wrecks are volunteers.

Of the firefighters killed during the 10-year period, 76 percent were not wearing seat belts or using restraint systems.

The data showed one third of the crashes involved firefighters' personal vehicles and all of them were single-fatality incidents (50 deaths). There were 28 crashes with 30 deaths involving pumpers. Another 28 crashes involving water tenders (tankers) also resulted in 30 deaths, according to the analysis.