Dealing with difficult traffic problems that slow emergency vehicles as they travel to their destinations is a dilemma encountered on a daily basis. Anticipating and identifying hazards while responding to incident scenes is critical for ensuring safe arrival. Deaths in crashes account for a significant proportion of annual firefighter fatalities. Motorists represent the greatest threat to safe and efficient responses by emergency vehicles. Every year in the U.S., there are almost 16,000 collisions involving fire department emergency vehicles. In 2008, the National Fire Protection Association's Fire Analysis and Research Division completed a study on U.S. firefighter fatalities in road vehicle crashes from 1998-2007. It was found that overall, crashes, including collisions and rollovers, consistently accounted for the second-largest share of firefighter deaths. The number of deaths annually ranged from lows of 10 in 1998 and 2006 to highs of 25 in 2003 and 2007. Responding emergency units should make every effort to minimize the risk of injury to themselves and the public. (Author/publisher)
Abstract