Reducing Firefighter Deaths and Injuries: Changes in Concept, Policy, and Practice Heart Disease in the Fire Service: Cause for Concern

A little over a year ago NIOSH published a document titled, “Preventing Fire Fighter Fatalities due to Heart Attacks and Other Sudden Cardiovascular Events.” The document presented the “lessons learned” from over 175 on-duty fire fighter fatalities due to sudden cardiac death. Specifically, the document described the magnitude of the problem, provided some background on the personal and occupational risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD), and provided 35 recommendat ions to prevent or reduce these tragic deaths [NIOSH 2007]. This paper summarizes that document and provides some possible explanation for why, since 1992, the number of on-duty sudden cardiac deaths has not significantly declined.