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Firefighter fatalities in the United States

The U. S. Fire Administration tracks and collects information on the causes of on-duty firefighter fatalities that occur in the United States. We conduct an annual analysis to identify specific problems so that we may direct efforts toward finding solutions that will reduce firefighter fatalities in the future. This information is also used to measure the effectiveness of programs directed toward firefighter health and safety.

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Firefighter fatalities in 2020

Notify us of a firefighter fatality

Firefighters carrying folded American flags

Watch America’s Tribute to Fallen Firefighters

Honoring line-of-duty deaths in 2019

photo of the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial

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Search for a fallen firefighter (1990 - present)

Search firefighter fatality incident data

Download our firefighter fatality data CSV ~ 3 MB

Read the annual fatality reports

Recent firefighter fatalities

Includes provisional information
Name	Fire Department	City, State	Date of Death
Leo W. Werner	Scales Mound Fire Protection District	Scales Mound, Illinois	Dec 10, 2020
Robert "Rob" Orkies	Zoneton Fire Protection District	Shepherdsville, Kentucky	Dec 11, 2020
Donald E. Trzepacz Sr.	Spring Brook Fire District #1	Elma, New York	Sep 2, 2020
Alan D. Basso	Cowlitz County Fire District 5	Kalama, Washington	Nov 27, 2020
Robert Cree	Harrison Township Volunteer Fire Department	Lucerne, Indiana	Nov 22, 2020
Robert "Bobby" J. Rocha	Kansas City, MO Fire Department	Kansas City, Missouri	Nov 21, 2020
Michael Buitendorp	Grant Township Fire Department	Rothbury, Michigan	Nov 18, 2020
Joseph "Joe" Gallo	Blissfield Township Fire Department	Blissfield, Michigan	Nov 17, 2020
Sean D. Laffan	Oakland Fire Department	Oakland, California	Nov 16, 2020
Matthew D. Bennnett	Indianapolis Fire Department	Indianapolis, Indiana	Nov 14, 2020

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More resources on firefighter fatalities

Firefighter Autopsy Protocol PDF 2.6 MB
This protocol helps with the analysis of causes related to firefighter deaths, which can aid in the development of improved firefighter health and safety equipment, procedures and standards. It also helps determine eligibility for death benefits under the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program.

National Fallen Firefighters Foundation
The Foundation provides peer counseling, training and technical assistance for families and coworkers of firefighters who were killed in the line of duty. It also creates publications and reference materials that can be used to build public awareness for the many contributions made by members of the fire service.

Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program
The Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program provides benefits to survivors of fallen firefighters, emergency medical services members and other first responders. The Program also provides disability benefits for public safety officers who are permanently disabled following an injury while in the line of duty.