{"id":597,"date":"2024-01-11T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-11T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/compliance-signs.local\/nfpa-reports-59000-firefighter-injuries-2017\/"},"modified":"2025-05-29T15:42:47","modified_gmt":"2025-05-29T19:42:47","slug":"nfpa-reports-59000-firefighter-injuries-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.compliancesigns.com\/blog\/nfpa-reports-59000-firefighter-injuries-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"NFPA Reports 63,000 Firefighter Injuries in 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The NFPA estimates that on-duty firefighters suffered 63,175 injuries in 2023, a decrease of four percent from the previous year. Of these firefighter injuries, 10,155 (17 percent) resulted in lost time from work, according to an article in the November-December NFPA Journal<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fireground Injuries<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Firefighters were more likely to be injured at fireground operations than during any other duties. In 2023, an estimated 18,875 injuries, or 30 percent of all reported firefighter injuries, occurred on the fireground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Non-fireground Injuries<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The non-fireground injuries included 13,275 injuries at non-fire emergency incidents; 10,700 injuries sustained while responding to or returning from an incident; 8,525 injuries during training activities; and 11,800 injuries during other on-duty activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strains, sprains, or muscular pain injuries were the leading type of injury during all non-fireground activities, particularly training, where it accounted for 57 percent of the injuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2023, an estimated 19,225 collisions involved fire department emergency vehicles responding to or returning from incidents, resulting in 1,450 injuries. Another 550 collisions occurred in firefighters\u2019 personal vehicles, which resulted in 75 injuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A summary report of the study includes estimates of the number of injuries by type of duty, trends in firefighter injuries and rates, causes, fire vehicle accidents and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the past 20 years, the number of these injuries has been much lower than prior years, due in part to a redefinition of injuries that places exposures to hazardous conditions and infectious diseases in their own categories, some of which may have previously been included in injury totals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Injuries by Type of Duty<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Firefighters were more likely to be injured at fireground operations than at other types of duties. In 2023, 30 percent of injuries (18,875) occurred at the fireground. 21 percent resulted from non-fire emergencies, followed by 17% while responding or returning, and 13 percent during training. 19 percent of injuries occurred during other duties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The number of injuries at non-fire emergencies has followed an upward trend since 1981, but there has been considerable year-to-year fluctuation. Firefighters experienced 13,275 injuries at non-fire emergencies in 2023, a 38 percent increase over the 9,600 injuries in 1981. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The injury rate over the same period declined from 1.2 injuries per 1,000 non-fire emergencies in 1981 to 0.4 in 2023, largely because the number of non-fire emergencies increased at a higher rate than the number of injuries at non-fire responses<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nature and Cause of Firefighter Injuries<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The major types of injuries suffered during fireground operations were:<\/p>\n\n\n\n