Special to the Sun
The National Fire Protection Association® (NFPA®) released its “Fatal Firefighter Injuries in the U.S. in 2024” report, which showed a total of 62 on-duty U.S. firefighter fatalities in 2024. This number reflects a 31 percent decrease over the 90 on-duty firefighter fatalities reported in 2023 and tied for the fourth fewest fatalities since 1977, when the annual study began. Eleven of the fatalities were due to heart attacks or medical conditions within 24 hours of duty and the remaining 51 deaths occurred while firefighters were on duty.
Of the 51 on-duty firefighter deaths in 2024, 19 were volunteer firefighters and 26 were career firefighters, with eight volunteer and three career firefighter fatalities occurring within 24 hours of duty. The non-municipal firefighters included two state forestry service firefighters, one federal forestry service firefighter, two state contractor employees, and one industrial firefighter.
Firefighters ages 40 to 49 experienced the highest number of fatalities, accounting for nearly one-third of the total (20 deaths), while 13 of the firefighter fatalities were among the ages of 50 to 59. Eleven of the firefighter fatalities were among those aged 70 years or older.
According to the report, overexertion or strain injuries continues to represent the leading cause of firefighter deaths with 40 fatal injuries (65 percent) in 2024. This share of the total is unusually high due to the inclusion of 11 fatalities that occurred within 24 hours of duty, which were not included in the study prior to 2022. All but 10 of the deaths in this category were fatal heart attacks, representing the leading medical cause of fatal firefighter injuries and accounting for nearly half of the deaths (30 deaths, 48 percent).
“Although the downward trend in the annual number of fatal firefighter injuries is an encouraging indication that injury prevention efforts through the years have been successful, there is a clear need for continuing attention to firefighter safety and health,” said Richard Campbell, a senior research analyst at NFPA and the lead author of the report. “To this end, sudden cardiac deaths remain a critical concern.”
Traumatic injuries accounted for approximately one-third of the deaths (18 deaths, 32 percent) and six firefighter fatalities were due to unspecified medical symptoms, while two firefighters suffered fatal aneurysms or embolisms and two died as a result of heat stroke. One firefighter each died due to thermal burns, electrocution, gunshot wounds, and drowning.
One-third of the fatal injuries were sustained while firefighters were operating at fires or explosions (20 deaths, 32 percent), followed by injuries that occurred while engaged in training duties or at non-fire incidents, each with 11 deaths (18 percent). Injuries sustained while firefighters were engaged in normal station activities accounted for 10 fatalities (16 percent), and six firefighters sustained fatal injuries while responding to or returning from incidents (10 percent). Injuries during inspections, emergency medical services, and other assignments each resulted in one firefighter fatality.
“Advances in firefighting practices and procedures, communications and equipment, training programs, and education have all helped to improve safety and health outcomes for the firefighting community through the years,” said Jay Petrillo, research analyst at NFPA who co-authored the report with Campbell. “Still, the unique variety of hazards encountered by firefighters across their multiple types of duties poses an ongoing challenge for comprehensive injury prevention.”
Campbell says that meeting this challenge will require a vested commitment from a range of actors within and outside the fire service.
This firefighter fatal injuries study is made possible by the cooperation and assistance of the United States fire service, CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the United States Fire Administration, the Forest Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Bureau of Land Management of the U.S. Department of the Interior.