NFPA Journal - Winter 2024 - 76

NFPA Research The Reports
RESEARCH SUMMARY
Firefighter Injuries on the
Fireground, 2018-2022
STRUCTURE FIRES CONTINUE TO GENERATE THE
MOST INJURIES FOR U.S. FIREFIGHTERS
By Richard Campbell
A
report by NFPA Research
estimates that municipal
firefighters in the United
States experienced an
average of 21,955 nonfatal
fireground injuries each year from
2018 through 2022. The injuries over this
latest five-year period, while substantial,
nevertheless represent a 4 percent decrease
from the estimated average of 22,590 injuries
each year from 2017 to 2021.
Career firefighters accounted for
18,508 of the injuries (84 percent), while
volunteer firefighters accounted for 3,447
(16 percent).
Overall, 4percent of the fireground
injuries were experienced by female
firefighters, who accounted for 8 percent
of the volunteer firefighter injuries
and 4 percent of the career firefighter
injuries. According to NFPA's most recent
" U.S. Fire Department Profile, " women
accounted for 9 percent of the overall
firefighter workforce in 2020.
Fireground injuries were highest in
the months of January and July, with 10
percent of the injuries occurring in each
month. February, March, April, May, and
June each accounted for 9 percent of the
injuries. Injuries were lowest in September,
October, and November.
Slightly more than two in five fireground
injuries occurred in fires that
took place between noon and 8 p.m., but
these hours also accounted for over half
of the fires. Although there were fewer
fires between midnight and 8 a.m., injuries
were substantially higher relative to
the share of fires at these hours. Such
factors as working in dark environments
76 | NFPA JOURNAL * WINTER 2024
or sleep disturbance may play a role in
this injury pattern.
Firefighters were most often injured
by " exposure to hazards " and " overexertion
or strain, " which together
accounted for more than half of the
injuries (54 percent). Injuries involving
overexertion or strain consistently rank
among the most common fireground
injuries experienced by both volunteer
and career firefighters. Exposure to hazards
includes exposure to fire products,
such as heat or smoke. Other leading
causes of fireground injury include slips
or trips, falls, contact with objects, and
being struck or assaulted by a person,
aimal, or moving object.
The vast majority of fireground injuries
The most common injury
symptom experienced by firefighters
was smoke inhalation
(25 percent), followed by sprain
or strain injuries (21 percent).
(81 percent) occurred at structure fires,
which include mobile properties used as
fixed structures. Much smaller shares of
injuries occurred at vehicle fires, natural
vegetation fires, outside rubbish or
unclassified fires, and fires in mobile
properties used as fixed structures.
Two in five injuries occurred outside
at grade level (42 percent), while 37 percent
occurred inside a structure, except
in an attic. Smaller shares of injuries
occurred while firefighters were on a
NFPA.ORG/FIREGROUNDINJURIES
Read the complete report on
firefighter injuries on the fireground
from 2018 to 2022.
roof, in an attic or other confined structural
space, on a ground ladder, or on a
steep grade.
The specific activity most often associated
with fireground injuries was
handling charged hose lines, which
accounted for one in five injuries (19
percent). Injuries during overhaul (7
percent) and while victims were using
hand tools during extinguishment (5
percent) were the next leading causes
of injury.
http://www.NFPA.ORG/FIREGROUNDINJURIES
NFPA Journal - Winter 2024

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