NFPA Journal - November/December 2017 - 105

projections are made by weighting the sample
results according to the proportion of total U.S.
population accounted for by communities of each
size. Around any estimate based on a sample
survey, there is a confidence interval that measures the statistical certainty or uncertainty of the
estimate. We are confident that the actual number
of total firefighter injuries falls within 5 percent of
the estimate.
A total of 2,769 departments responded to
the 2016 fire experience survey. The results are
based on injuries that occurred during incidents
attended by public fire departments. No state or
federal firefighting entities were included in this
sample, and no adjustments were made for injuries that occurred during fires attended solely by
private fire brigades, such as those at industrial
or military installations. We enhanced the data
collection for the selected incident summaries by
sending the fire departments a form requesting
information on the type of protective equipment
worn, the ages and ranks of the firefighters
injured, and a description of circumstances that
led to injury.
In this report, "fire" refers to any instance of
uncontrolled burning, excluding combustion
explosions and fires out on arrival (whether
authorized or not); overpressure rupture without combustion; mutual aid responses; smoke
scares; and hazardous materials responses, e.g.,
flammable gas, liquid, or chemical spills without
fire. "Incident" refers to the movement of a piece

Selected 2016 U.S.
Firefighter Injury Incidents
INJURED AFTER RUNNING
OUT OF AIR
The fire department received
several phone calls for a
multiple-family home on fire.
Firefighters arrived on scene
within three minutes and
encountered a four-story,
wood, balloon-frame-constructed building in flames. The
wind-driven fire was spreading
rapidly from the second-floor
porch throughout the third floor
and through the roof, and was
extending to adjacent buildings
to the left and right. It ignited a
very large brush fire in the rear
of the structures that threatened several garages.
The first-arriving fire companies immediately requested
multiple alarms. Twenty-eight
minutes after the first units
arrived, a general alarm was
called by the fire chief, bringing
nearly 92 firefighters to the
scene. The fire was brought
under control in approximately
90 minutes.
A total of 14 firefighters
were injured battling the multiple-alarm fire. Two of those
firefighters suffered life-threatening injuries. Several other
firefighters suffered significant
injuries, including a fractured
hand, a shoulder injury, and an
eye injury.

A firefighter experienced
a cardiac event and was hospitalized after overexerting
himself at the fire scene. The
25-year veteran was assigned
to an engine company that
responded on the general
alarm. He performed several
tasks including establishing a
water supply by laying 1,000
feet (305 meters) of hose,
connecting hose and appliances, and turning on a fire
hydrant. He briskly walked to
the fire building after collecting
his self-contained breathing
apparatus (SCBA) and equipment. He was then ordered to
advance a hoseline to the fourth
floor of the exposure building
where an injured captain was
operating. He moved up and
down the four stories numerous
times to ensure the hoseline
was adequately stretched while
wearing 60 pounds (27 kilograms) of gear and equipment.
After the fire was knocked
down, he informed his company
officer that he needed a break
and promptly reported to the
rehabilitation area outside the
building. He removed his protective ensemble and entered
rehabilitation. After 20 minutes
of rest, his vital signs had not
returned to normal and he was
placed on a cardiac monitor.

NEWSCOM

Workers clean
up after a gas
explosion leveled
a building in
Oregon, injuring
three firefighters
and two police
officers.

N F PA . O R G / J O U R N A L * NFPA JOURNAL

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - November/December 2017