Report: NFPA's "United States Firefighter Injuries in 2019"
Author: Richard Campbell and Ben Evarts
Issued: November 2020
Report highlights
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An estimated 60,825 firefighter injuries occurred in the line of duty in 2019, an increase of four percent over the 2018 injury total.
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In addition to injuries, there were 7,675 documented exposures to infectious diseases and 24,525 exposures to hazardous conditions.
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Firefighters were more likely to be injured at fireground operations than other types of duties. In 2019, 23,825 injuries, or 39 percent of all reported firefighter injuries, occurred at the fireground.
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The leading cause of fireground injuries was overexertion or strain (29 percent of total injuries).
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Strain, sprain, or muscular pain injuries accounted for nearly two of five (41 percent) injuries on the fireground.
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Non-fireground injuries included 4,100 injuries while responding to, or returning from an incident; 8,175 injuries incurred during training activities, 14,150 injuries at non-fire emergency incidents, and 10,575 injuries during other on duty activities.
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In 2019, an estimated 15,350 collisions involved fire department emergency vehicles responding to or returning from incidents.
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