July 9, 1999 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)
Fatalities among firefighters
Over 40 firefighters died from injuries on the job each year,
on average, from 1992 through 1997. Fires and explosions and transportation incidents
contributed to just over three-quarters of the fatalities among firefighters. Exposure to
harmful substances or environments was the next most common event leading to a fatality.
![Fatalities to firefighters, 1992-1997](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20120925094200im_/http://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/images/1999/Jul/wk1/art04.gif)
[Chart data—TXT]
The average rate of fatal workplace injuries to firefighters was 16.5 per 100,000
employed for the period 1992-97, compared to a rate of 4.7
per 100,000 for all workers. The fatality rate for firefighters varied over the 6-year
period. In 1994, a single forest fire in Colorado claimed 14 lives
and was primarily responsible for increasing the rate to 21.5 fatalities
per 100,000 employed. In 1996, the rate fell to a low of 13.7 fatalities per 100,000
workers.
These data are a product of the BLS Safety and Health Statistics
Program. Additional information is available in "Fatalities to Law
Enforcement Officers and Firefighters, 1992-97" (PDF
43K), Compensation and Working Conditions, Summer 1999.
Of interest
Spotlight on Statistics: National Hispanic Heritage Month
In this Spotlight, we take a look at the Hispanic labor force—including labor force participation, employment and unemployment, educational attainment, geographic location, country of birth, earnings, consumer expenditures, time use, workplace injuries, and employment projections.
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Read more »