Aviation-Related Wildland Firefighter Fatalities – United States, 2000–2013

Details

• Journal Article:
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• Personal Author:
  Butler, Corey R. ; Lincoln, Jennifer M. ; O'Connor, Mary B.
• Description:
  Summary: What is already known on this topic? Working in and around aircraft is considered one of the most dangerous operations when suppressing wildfires. Aviation-related incidents are one of the leading causes of death among wildland firefighters. Many fire management agencies have instituted policies and protocols that are designed to reduce the risk associated with using aircraft when suppressing wildfires. What is added by this report? During 2000-2013, a total of 78 firefighters were fatally injured while performing wildland fire duties involving aircraft during 41 separate events. The leading causes of fatal aircraft crashes were engine, structure, or component failure; loss of control of the aircraft; failure to maintain clearance from terrain, water, or objects; and hazardous weather. What are the implications for public health practice? Agencies and employers need to ensure that the most stringent and consistent safety guidelines and standards that incorporate a comprehensive approach to efficient, effective, and safer wildland firefighting operations are followed during firefighting operations. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aircraft Environmental Health Firefighters Fires Forestry Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Mortality Occupational Health Safety Safety Management
• Keywords:
  Aircrews Climatic-conditions Environmental-factors Equipment-reliability Fire-fighting Fire-fighting-equipment Injury-prevention Machine-operation Mortality-data Mortality-rates Pilots Safety-measures Safety-practices Standards Task-performance Traumatic-injuries Work-operations

  More +
• Series:
  Weekly Report: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• ISSN:
  0149-2195 (print) ; 1545-861X (digital)
• Publisher:
  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (U.S.)
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  United States
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  APRO - Alaska Pacific Regional Office ; WSD - Western States Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  4 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Lucas, Devin L. ; Palmer, Stan ; Fahy, Rita ; Domitrovich, Joe
• Volume:
  64
• Issue:
  29
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20046401
• Citation:
  MMWR 2015 Jul; 64(29):793-796
• Email:
  crbutler@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Collection(s):
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:024fcfecdd0d702535601a4ff37a579f8388bf8c9ae2dd9123d6519ff42cd565b512d641f0406bce8f1af172894fe1ae1b05810a9f3231b10225e5f3c4fea4cd
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/183023/cdc_183023_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 363.49 KB ]