Fighting the fire

"A healthy, fit firefighter is a safe firefighter."

This is what Stan Palmer, a member of the Northwest Wildfire Coordinating Group's Safety and Health Working Team tells me when I ask about firefighter fatalities (See the related infographic on the top five causes of firefighter deaths since 1910). Over the years, firefighters in the West have died in numerous ways: brain aneurysms, asphyxiation, falling rocks; the gruesome list goes on and on. 

But through efforts of the NWCG team, there have been major improvements in firefighting safety measures and firefighter nutrition. Usually, significant changes are made after extreme wildfires lead to numerous fatalities.

In 1994, for example, 17 firefighters burned to death in a severe wildfire near Glenwood Springs, Colo. After that happened, several agencies worked together to improve firefighter safety and came up with 85 recommendations. Changes included better training and nutrition for firefighters, as well as upgrades to newer vehicles and aircrafts. Now, computer alert systems report fires and changes in fire conditions faster than before, allowing firefighters to get to blazes before they get too extreme, and alerting them to dangerous situations more quickly. The same alert systems have also sped up reporting of injuries and fatalities, allowing firefighters to take appropriate precautions sooner. 

The biggest challenge firefighters face is the increasingly more complex wildfire environment, says Michelle Ryerson, chair of the NWCG team. 

"Firefighters have to be aware to expect the unexpected," she says. "We’re seeing larger fires than ever before, and fire behavior that used to be very extreme has become more common. You’ll see what we call blow-up conditions more frequently (and) intense heat and scientists say a lot of that has to do with the change in the environment. The forests aren’t able to recover from drought and it’s a cumulative effect." 

Because of their maneuverability, airplanes and helicopters have helped firefighters tackle these more extreme blazes with some success. But there's bad you have to take with that, Ryerson says.

Between 1990 and 2006, aircraft and vehicle accidents accounted for 46 percent of all firefighter fatalities. Fifty-six percent of the total number of vehicle accidents involved volunteer firefighters. 

Aircraft accidents were the most common cause of fatalities for persons who died during wildland fire operations from 1990 to 2006. Helicopters are being used more frequently during wildland fire operations. Credit: NWCG Firefighter Fatality Report, Aug. 2007

As the major cause of firefighter deaths has shifted from the fires themselves to increased vehicle and aircraft accidents, the NWCG has identified four major safety precautions: 

1. Firefighters are most likely to die in an aircraft accident. Before every flight, fire managers must ask, “Is this flight essential?” and “Is everyone onboard essential to the mission?
2. Firefighters are nearly as likely to die in a vehicle accident as in an aircraft accident. Driving too fast for the conditions, failure to wear seat belts, rushing to a fire, and driving home while exhausted from firefighting kills firefighters.
3. Firefighters can reduce their risk of dying from heart attacks on the job by staying fit, maintaining their body weight, and having regular medical checkups.
4. Unexpected events such as falling snags, rolling rocks, downed power lines, and lightning strikes cause more than 8 percent of fatalities during wildland fire fighting operations. Firefighters and fire managers can reduce fatalities by learning to expect these unexpected events.