2020 annual report
Data visualization: Firefighter fatality causes
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Table: Firefighter fatality causes
| Cause | Fatalities |
|---|---|
| Stress or overexertion | 37 |
| Exposure (COVID-19) | 36 |
| Vehicle crashes | 15 |
| Collapse | 4 |
| Caught or trapped | 3 |
| Struck by object | 2 |
| Out of air | 2 |
| Other | 2 |
| Fall | 1 |
On-duty firefighter deaths in 2020
49 Career
44 Volunteer
9 Wildland
| 102 | Firefighters died while on duty. 36 firefighters died from COVID-19. |
| 72 | Firefighters died from activities related to an emergency incident. |
| 29 | Firefighters died from heart attacks. |
| 26 | Firefighters died from activities at a fire scene. |
| 25 | Firefighters died from activities at a non-fire scene. |
| 14 | Firefighters died while responding to or returning from emergency incidents. |
| 7 | Firefighters died while participating in training activities. |
On-duty firefighter fatalities, 2011-2020
Does not include COVID-19 fatalities for purposes of trend analysis| 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Firefighter Fatalities | 91 | 86 | 110 | 97 | 90 | 92 | 93 | 85 | 65 | 66 |
Firefighter fatalities by age (2020)
| < 21 | 1 |
|---|---|
| 21-25 | 4 |
| 26-30 | 5 |
| 31-35 | 5 |
| 36-40 | 7 |
| 41-45 | 15 |
| 46-50 | 14 |
| 51-55 | 9 |
| 56-60 | 15 |
| 61-65 | 10 |
| 66-70 | 11 |
| 71-75 | 3 |
| > 75 | 3 |
1986-2019 annual firefighter fatality reports
Important: Please read the introduction for each report to understand how determinations to include on-duty firefighters are made.
Plan a visit the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial
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