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Summary Incident Report

Report dates:
Feb 19, 1990 to Jan 21, 2024
Number of on-duty firefighter fatalities:
654
Count of Hometown Heroes:
26
Data filters that contributed to this report
No filters were applied.

Firefighter classifications

67.5%
435 Career
31.5%
203 Volunteer
0.47%
3 Industrial
0.31%
2 Part-Time (Paid)
0.16%
1 Wildland Contract
Number of multiple firefighter fatality incidents: 11
Number of firefighter fatalities associated with wildland incidents: 1

Type of duty

70.5%
458 On-Scene Fire
8.6%
56 Other On-Duty
6.9%
45 Responding
5.1%
33 On-Scene Non-Fire
4.6%
30 After
3.7%
24 Training
0.62%
4 Returning
Percent of fatalities related to emergency duty: 79.1%
Number of firefighter fatalities associated with suspicious/incendiary incidents: 353

Type of incident

76.2%
413 Structure Fire
10.3%
56 Not Incident-Related
4.2%
23 Other
3.7%
20 Motor Vehicle Accident
1.3%
7 Emergency Medical Services
0.92%
5 Unknown
0.92%
5 False Alarm
0.74%
4 Hazmat
0.55%
3 Outside Fire
0.55%
3 Wildland
0.18%
1 Vehicle Fire
0.18%
1 Weather/Disaster Response
0.18%
1 Technical Rescue

Cause of fatal injury

54.5%
353 Collapse
26.7%
173 Stress/Overexertion
4.6%
30 Struck By
4.2%
27 Caught or Trapped
2.6%
17 Fall
2.3%
15 Exposure
1.7%
11 Other
1.5%
10 Vehicle Collision - Includes Aircraft
0.93%
6 Unknown
0.62%
4 Lost
0.15%
1 Out of Air
0.15%
1 Assault

Nature of fatal injury

61.4%
399 Trauma
26%
169 Heart Attack
4.5%
29 Asphyxiation
2.3%
15 Burns
1.7%
11 Other
1.4%
9 Cerebrovascular Accident
0.92%
6 Crushed
0.62%
4 Unknown
0.46%
3 Violence
0.46%
3 Covid-19
0.31%
2 Electrocution

Age of firefighter when the fatal injury was sustained

1.4%
9 (Under 21)
1.5%
10 (21 to 25)
2%
13 (26 to 30)
7%
46 (31 to 40)
11.2%
73 (41 to 50)
11.6%
76 (51 to 60)
10.2%
67 (61 and Over)
55%
360 (Unknown)
Percent of firefighter fatalities age 40 and under: 26.5%

Type of activity

61.4%
377 Search and Rescue
10.1%
62 Other
6.7%
41 Advance Hose Lines/Fire Attack (includes Wildland)
3.1%
19 Not On Scene
2.9%
18 In-Station Duties
2.1%
13 Support
1.6%
10 Incident Command
1.6%
10 Driving/Riding Personal Vehicle
1.6%
10 Driving/Operating Vehicle/Apparatus
1.5%
9 Scene Safety
1.5%
9 Unknown
1.3%
8 Riding Vehicle/Apparatus
0.98%
6 Ventilation
0.65%
4 Water Supply
0.65%
4 EMS/Patient Care
0.49%
3 Salvage and Overhaul
0.49%
3 Setup
0.49%
3 Responding
0.49%
3 Fitness Activity
0.16%
1 Standby
0.16%
1 Extrication

Time of fatal injury

1.2%
8 01:00-02:59
1.2%
8 03:00-04:59
1.1%
7 05:00-06:59
1.7%
11 07:00-08:59
55.5%
363 09:00-10:59
3.5%
23 11:00-12:59
2.9%
19 13:00-14:59
3.2%
21 15:00-16:59
2.4%
16 17:00-18:59
3.7%
24 19:00-20:59
3.2%
21 21:00-22:59
1.8%
12 23:00-00:59
18.5%
121 Unknown

Month of the year

56.1%
367 September
6%
39 January
4.9%
32 December
4.7%
31 June
4.3%
28 March
4.1%
27 February
4%
26 November
3.7%
24 April
3.7%
24 August
3.4%
22 July
2.9%
19 October
2.3%
15 May

Firefighter fatalities by state by location of fire service organization

100%
542 New York