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Topical Fire Report Series November 2022 | Volume 22, Issue 4

Fire-Related Firefighter Injuries
as Reported to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (2018-2020)

This topical report addresses the details of firefighter injuries sustained at, responding to or returning from a fire incident, focusing on data as reported to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) from 2018 to 2020.

Download the 16-page report

At a Glance

From 2018 to 2020, an estimated
23,075

firefighter injuries
occurred annually on the fireground, and another 4,400 injuries occurred while responding to or returning from an incident.

87%
occurred in structure fires

Most fire-related firefighter injuries (87%) occurred in structure fires. In addition, on average, firefighters were 10 times more likely to be injured in structure fires than in nonstructure fires.

43%
lost work time

Injuries resulted in lost work time for 43% of firefighters with reported fire-related injuries.

12%
higher in July

Fires resulting in firefighter injuries occurred more often in July, at 12%, and peaked between the hours of 2 and 5 p.m.

29%
overexertion/strain

Overexertion/Strain was the cause of 29% of reported fire related firefighter injuries.

63%
transported to hospitals

Of the reported fire-related injuries, 63% of the firefighters were transported to hospitals to be treated for their injuries. Of those firefighters treated at a hospital, 70% were career firefighters.