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NIOSH Publication No. 2007-154:The NIOSH Fire Fighter Fatality
Investigation and Prevention Program
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August 2007
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The United States currently depends on approximately 1.1 million fire fighters to protect its citizens and property from losses caused by fire. Of these fire fighters, approximately 313,000 are career and 823,000 are volunteers. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the U.S. Fire Administration estimate that on average, 100 fire fighters die in the line-of duty each year. In fiscal year 1998, Congress recognized the need for further efforts to address the continuing national problem of occupational fire fighter fatalities and funded NIOSH to implement a fire fighter safety initiative. This supersedes NIOSH Publication 2002-158. |
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Fire Fighter Fatality Investigations
Program Objectives
Traumatic Injury Deaths
NIOSH staff with respirator expertise also assist with investigations in which the function of respiratory protective equipment may have been a factor in the incident. They evaluate the performance of the selfcontained breathing apparatus (SCBA) as a system and conduct evaluations of SCBA maintenance programs upon request. Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) DeathsNFPA data show that heart attacks are the most common type of line-of-duty deaths for fire fighters. NIOSH investigations of these fatalities include assessing the contribution of personal and workplace factors. Personal factors include identifying individual risk factors for coronary artery disease. The workplace evaluation includes the following assessments:
Information Dissemination
What to Expect During a NIOSH InvestigationNIOSH is notified of a line-of-duty death in a number of ways, including notification by the United States Fire Administration (USFA), a fire department representative, the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), or the State Fire Marshal's Office. NIOSH conducts investigations of both career and volunteer fire fighter line-of-duty deaths. Once notified of a fatality, a NIOSH representative will contact the fire department. NIOSH investigators will review all applicable documents (e.g., department standard operating procedures, dispatch records, training records for the victim, Incident Commander and officers, the victim's medical records, (where applicable), coroner/medical examiner’s reports, death certificates, blueprints of the structure, police reports, photographs, and video). Additionally, investigators will interview fire department personnel and fire fighters who were on the scene at the time of the incident. NIOSH may work closely with other investigating agencies. When needed, NIOSH will enlist the assistance of other experts, such as experts in motor vehicle incident reconstruction or fire growth modeling. Once the investigation is completed, NIOSH will summarize the sequence of events related to the incident and prepare a draft report. Each department, union (if present), or family (where applicable) will have the opportunity to review this portion of the report in draft form to ensure it is technically accurate. The report is then finalized with the addition of recommendations for preventing future deaths and injuries under similar circumstances. In selected cases, NIOSH will also enlist the assistance of subject matter experts to review complete draft reports. Once the fire department, union (if present), and family (where applicable) have received the final copy of the NIOSH incident report, it is made available to the public through the Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program website. Other Publications and ProductsIn addition to the incident reports developed by the program, NIOSH has produced other products related to fire fighter safety and health. Examples Include:
Who Do I Contact for Further Information?If you have any questions regarding the NIOSH Fire
Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
You may access the incident reports and other related
fire fighter publications through the Fire Fighter Ordering InformationCopies of other NIOSH documents on occupational
safety and health are available from: |
This document is also available in PDF format.
The NIOSH Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and
Prevention Program (FFFIPP) conducts
investigations of fire fighter line-of-duty deaths to
formulate recommendations for preventing future
deaths and injuries. The program does not seek to
determine fault or place blame on fire departments or
individual fire fighters, but to learn from these tragic
events and prevent future similar events.
Investigations are prioritized using a 
The program uses the Fatality Assessment and
Control Evaluation (FACE) model to conduct
investigations of fireground and non-fireground fatal
injuries resulting from a variety of circumstances, such as motor vehicle incidents, burns, falls,
structural collapse, diving incidents and
electrocutions. NIOSH staff also conduct
investigations of selected non-fatal injury events.
Each investigation results in a report summarizing
the incident, and includes recommendations for
preventing future similar events.
The Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and
Prevention Program posts all investigative reports
onto the NIOSH Web site
(