Citation

Kunadharaju K, Smith TD, DeJoy DM. Accid. Anal. Prev. 2011; 43(3): 1171-1180.

Affiliation

Workplace Health Group, College of Public Health, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-6522, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.aap.2010.12.030

PMID

21376916

Abstract

More than 100 firefighters die in the line-of-duty in the U.S. each year and over 80,000 are injured. This study examined all firefighter fatality investigations (N=189) completed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) for fatalities occurring between 2004 and 2009. These investigations produced a total of 1167 recommendations for corrective actions. Thirty-five high frequency recommendations were derived from the total set: six related to medical fatalities and 29 to injury-related fatalities. These high frequency recommendations were mapped onto the major operational components of firefighting using a fishbone or cause-effect diagram. Over 70% of the 30 non-external recommendations were categorized within the personnel and incident command components of the fishbone diagram. Root cause techniques suggested four higher order causes: under-resourcing, inadequate preparation for/anticipation of adverse events during operations, incomplete adoption of incident command procedures, and sub-optimal personnel readiness. These findings are discussed with respect to the core culture of firefighting.

Language: en