Statistical Reports: Firefighter Casualties

Topical Fire Report Series

The National Fire Data Center's Topical Fire Report Series explores facets of the U.S. fire problem that affect Americans in their daily lives. Primarily based on data collected through USFA's National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS), each issue briefly addresses the nature and relevance of the specific fire or fire-related problem, highlights important findings, and suggests other resources to consider for further information. Each topical report also includes recent examples of fire incidents that demonstrate some of the issues addressed in the report.

New: Fire-Related Firefighter Injuries Reported to NFIRS
Findings from this report:

An estimated 81,070 firefighter injuries occur annually in the United States.
49 percent of firefighter injuries occur on the fireground and 6 percent occur while responding to or returning from a fire incident.
Overexertion/strain is the leading cause of fire-related firefighter injuries at 25 percent.
38 percent of all fire-related firefighter injuries result in lost work time.
The majority of fire-related firefighter injuries (87 percent) occur in structure fires.
On average, structure fires have more injuries per fire than nonstructure fires.
Firefighter injury fires are more prevalent in July (10 percent) and peak between the hours of 2 and 5 p.m.

Download Fire-Related Firefighter Injuries Reported to NFIRS » (PDF, 945 Kb)