The United States Fire Administration (USFA) has released its report into firefighter fatalities across the USA during 2008. 118 firefighters died while on duty last year, the same as in 2007. The breakdown includes 66 volunteer, 34 career, and 18 wildland agency firefighters.
 
There were five incidents where two or more firefighters were killed, claiming a total of 18 firefighter lives. 26 firefighters were killed fighting brush, grass or wildland fires. This was more than twice the number killed in 2007.

Activities related to emergency incidents resulted in the deaths of 75 firefighters, with 28 dying while engaging in activities at the scene of a fire. 21 firefighters died esponding to, and three while returning from, emergency incidents.

Heart attacks
Stress and over exertion, and vehicle crashes, were the leading causes of firefighter deaths once again. Of 52  who died of stress or overexertion, 45 died of heart attacks, five from strokes, one from a tear in a cardiac vessel, and one from acidosis and dehydration.

13 firefighters died after the conclusion of their on-duty activity, while 12  died while engaged in training activities.

Crashes claimed 28 firefighters, half of whom died in aircraft crashes. Six accidents involved firefighters responding to incidents in their personal vehicles. Four of those killed were not wearing seat belts.

Object hazards
The report also shows a drastic increase in the number of firefighters killed after being struck by an object. At 14, this was almost three times the number recorded in 2007. Four of those were struck while working along a highway and three were hit by bullets. Structural explosions and aerial apparatus incidents each resulted in two deaths.

August proved to be the deadliest month, while October the safest; the majority of on-duty firefighter deaths occurred between 7 pm and 9 pm.

"The causes of death among firefighters are well known and the steps necessary to protect firefighters have been studied and reported in numerous forums,” United States Fire Administrator Kelvin J. Cochran said. “We must take the necessary steps to ensure, as much as possible, all firefighters return from every call, safely."

North Carolina was the state with the largest number of fatalities with 11, followed by Pennsylvania and Oregon, with 9 each. The youngest firefighter killed on duty in 2008 was 17 years old; the oldest was 82.

The USFA has tracked the annual number of firefighter fatalities for 32 years.

The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation worked closely with USFA on the report. Firefighters who die in the line-of-duty are honored during the annual National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend held each October in Emmitsburg, Maryland.

More information
The United States Fire Administration's website has published a summary of the report in a media release and offers the report as a pdf download. Year-to-date monthly and annual USFA firefighter fatality reports are also posted on the website.