Colorado State Fire Chiefs Association



CSFCA: Taking Care of Our Own The Colorado State Fire Chiefs’ Association (CSFCA) is dedicated to providing leadership, education, and support to the chief officers of Colorado fire departments in order to reduce the loss of life and property and to protect Colorado ’s citizens and institutions from all types of emergencies. One of the stated goals of the CSFCA is to promote firefighter health and safety. The following information and resources are provided to assist our members in achieving that goal.

Firefighter Cancer Page, go here



Safety, Health and Survival Challenge, “Changing our Culture to Improve Firefighter Safety” - Winter 2009 by CSFCA President Christopher P. Riley As we complete the month of February 2009, tragically we stand at 15 LODD’s. We realize that firefighting and our all-hazards approach to emergency response is inherently dangerous 24/7. But what can we do as fire service leaders to promote a safety driven culture within our departments and reduce the number of LODD and injuries?

CSFCA Safety, Health and Survival Message "Raising the Bar on Firefighter Safety" - June 2009 by CSFCA President Christopher P. Riley As we approach June and the summer months that lie ahead, there is no better way to get started discussing safety issues and raising the bar on safety then by having 100% participation by all Colorado fire agencies in the 2009 National Fire/EMS Health, Safety, and Survival Week, held 14-20 June.

Federal Government Begins Mandating High-Visibility Vests for Emergency Responders On November 24, 2008, a new federal regulation (23 CFR 634) goes into effect mandating that anyone working in the right-of-way of a federal-aid highway must be wearing high-visibility clothing that meets the requirements of ANSI / ISEA 107; 2004 edition class 2 or 3. This requirement will apply to all emergency responders.

USFA Fire-Related Firefighter Injuries Report Twice as many firefighters are injured each year performing fireground duties as there are fire injuries to the civilian population, according to a new report issued today by the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Fire Administration (USFA). The full report can be downloaded in PDF format by clicking here. (PDF, 2.4 Mb)

Contributing Factors to Firefighter Line of Duty Death in the U.S. The United States Fire Administration (USFA) worked with the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) in a project to enhance risk management capability of local fire departments. The goal of this initiative was to enable fire departments to design effective risk management programs based on community hazards and service commitment, enhance firefighter safety, and provide tools for continual evaluation of emergency response systems. The full report can be downloaded in PDF format by clicking here.

Breast Cancer and Environmental Risk Factors Alert for Women Firefighters: Chemical Exposures in Your Workplace and Breast Cancer Risk On-Line Version of the Brochure Full Color Alert Brochure PDF

USFA Firefighter Fatalities This page contains information about on-duty U.S. firefighter fatalities. Included are notices of firefighter fatality, a database that allows visitors to search for firefighters honored at the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial, a description of the Memorial, a database that provides statistics related to the circumstances surrounding fatalities, the annual USFA firefighter fatality report, and information about Public Safety Officer Benefits (PSOB). http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/fireservice/fatalities/index.shtm

USFA Releases Provisional 2008 Firefighter Fatality Statistics EMMITSBURG, MD. – The United States Fire Administration (USFA) announced today there were 114 on-duty firefighter fatalities in the United States as a result of incidents that occurred in 2008. During this period, there were firefighters lost from 34 states and one from the Virgin Islands.

Firefighter Fatalities in the United States – 2007 Fire Analysis and Research Division, National Fire Protection Association In 2007, a total of 102 on-duty firefighter deaths occurred in the U.S. This is a sharp increase over the 89 firefighter fatalities that occurred in 2006, but returns to the long-term trend of close to 100 on-duty deaths annually. The full report can be downloaded in PDF format by clicking here.

Provisional 2007 Firefighter Fatality Statistics January 8, 2008 – The United States Fire Administration (USFA) announced today there were 115 on-duty firefighter fatalities in the United States in 2007. The full report can be downloaded in PDF format by clicking here.

USFA and NVFC Release Updated Health and Wellness Guide for the Volunteer Fire and Emergency Services Emmitsburg, MD - The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), working with the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC), has issued a revised Health and Wellness Guide for the Volunteer Fire and Emergency Services. The Health and Wellness Guide now provides updated information on health and wellness issues, trends, and programs focused on the needs of the volunteer fire service. The document addresses fitness including aerobic exercise, flexibility, strength training, diet; smoking cessation; and other areas that will have a positive impact on volunteer firefighters.

Fatalities Among Volunteer and Career Firefighters The Centers for Disease Control released a report (April 28, 2006) on Fatalities Among Volunteer and Career Firefighters in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. They found that among volunteer firefighters, sudden cardiac death (e.g., from myocardial infarction or arrhythmia) and motor vehicle (MV) crashes during emergency response were the leading causes of fatality. Among career firefighters, sudden cardiac death and asphyxiation were leading causes of death. Adoption and enforcement of existing fire-service recommendations regarding fitness standards, mandatory medical evaluations with appropriate work restrictions, and emergency vehicle response protocols are needed to prevent fatalities among firefighters. LINK TO REPORT: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5516a3.htm?s_cid=mm5516a3_e

Near-Miss Reporting System The Colorado State Fire Chiefs’ Association (CSFCA) encourages its members to help improve fire fighter safety by sharing near-miss experiences so that all fire fighters and emergency responders can help prevent unnecessary injuries and fatalities. http://www.firefighternearmiss.com

	2007 Near-Miss Annual Report (1.6 MB)
	2006 Near-Miss Annual Report (2.5 MB)

2007 National Firefighter Life Safety Summit Report More than 200 fire service personnel met in Novato, California on March 3-4, 2007, and were divided into groups to discuss a myriad of issues ranging from health and safety to training and research and structural firefighting. Among the key recommendations include promote safety culture, adopt crew resource management, make no exceptions for fitness for duty rules, enforce seat belt compliance, create and participate in data programs, establish driving protocols and participate in Firefighter Near-Miss.

	2007 National Firefighter Life Safety Summit Report

Online Emergency Vehicle Safety Program The United States Fire Administration has a new emergency vehicle safety program designed to give firefighters a greater awareness of safety issues when riding on fire apparatus and operating at emergency roadway scenes. Although injuries and death as the result of apparatus collisions are among the easiest to prevent, of the 106 firefighters who died in the line of duty in 2005, 26 were due to emergency vehicle accidents. http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/fireservice/research/safety/vehicle.shtm

Smoke Inhalation & Hydrogen Cyanide Poisoning Emergency medical and fire-rescue professionals tend to equate cyanide poisoning with accidental or intentional ingestion. However, cyanide toxicity from smoke inhalation in a structural or an enclosed-space fire is the most likely cause of cyanide toxicity that EMS and fire professionals will encounter. PDF FILE: Smoke Inhalation & Hydrogen Cyanide Poisoning, an editorial supplement to JEMS, Summer 2004. (Large file 6MB)

Emergency Duties and Deaths from Heart Disease among Firefighters in the United States Heart disease causes 45% of the deaths that occur among U.S. firefighters while they are on duty. The Harvard Medical School examined duty-specific risks of death from coronary heart disease among on-duty U.S. firefighters from 1994 to 2004.

	New England Journal of Medicine Article	March 22, 2007
	New England Journal of Medicine Editorial	March 22, 2007

Other Resources and Reports

Cancer Risk Among Firefighters: A Review and Meta-analysis of 32 Studies

Firefighter Safety: It's Not Just About You (Video)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBhmw-djkh0

Future Directions for the NIOSH Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program

Guide to Model Policies and Procedures for Emergency Vehicle Safety http://www.iafc.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=602

NIOSH Safety Advisory: Improper Set-up of Aerial Ladders with a Locking Waterway May Put Fire Fighters at Risk

PASS Device Safety Issue (02/28/07)

PASS Performance Issues Addressed in New Edition of NFPA Standard (02/28/07)

Taking Care of Our Own - A Resource Guide for Line of Duty Deaths, Colorado Fallen Firefighters Foundation (2003)

The Economic Consequences of Firefighter Injuries and Their Prevention. (PDF, 2.4 Mb) Prepared for U.S. Department of Commerce, Building and Fire Research Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8661 by TriData Corporation, a Division of System Planning Corporation, 1000 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22209-8661

U.S. Firefighter Disorientation Study 1979 – 2001 Prepared by William R. Mora, Captain, San Antonio Fire Department, San Antonio, Texas, July 2003

Wildland Firefighter Fatalities in the United States: 1990–2006 (PDF, 5.7 Mb)

Structural Stability of Engineered Lumber in Fire Conditions This two-hour presentation summarizes a research study on the hazards posed to firefighters by the use of lightweight construction and engineered lumber in floor and roof designs.


This page was last updated on July 16, 2010