EMS LODD vs Fire/Police

[paradoqs]

I wonder how many EMT-B/I/P's die in the line of duty versus fire and police personnel. Anyone have any stats or input?

 

[46Young]

http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/fireservice/fatalities/

That should cover the FF fatalities. Over half of the FF deaths have been linked to cardiac causes. These LODD's include responding to calls, returning to calls, dying in ones sleep afterward, and I think death within 24 hours post incident as well. FF LODD's generally number in the low 100's nationally every year, on average.

Here's a quick EMS list I found, maybe someone has a better one for EMS and police:

http://www.ems1.com/lodd-line-of-duty-deaths/

 

[LucidResq]

This is from a 2004 EMS Magazine article by Bledsoe....

A recent study in Annals of Emergency Medicine detailed how dangerous the EMS profession can be. The authors looked at various data and found that there was an estimated rate of 12.7 fatalities per 100,000 EMS workers annually, compared to 14.2 for police officers and 16.5 for firefighters. They concluded that the occupational fatality rate for EMS workers exceeds that of the general population and is comparable with that of other emergency public service workers.

Unfortunately, he doesn't list a citation.

 

[Cory]

This is from a 2004 EMS Magazine article by Bledsoe....



Unfortunately, he doesn't list a citation.

Sorry, I know this is unrelated to the OP, but that article was absolutely fascinating...and horrifying. But still, I'm very glad you linked it.

 

[Porkchop]

This is a good resource for law enforcement LODDs.

 

[usafmedic45]

Unfortunately, he doesn't list a citation.

Most likely this article: Maguire BJ, Hunting KL, Smith GS, Levick NR.Occupational fatalities in emergency medical services: a hidden crisis. Ann Emerg Med. 2002 Dec;40(6):625-32.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: We estimate the occupational fatality rate among emergency medical services (EMS) personnel in the United States. METHODS: We undertook descriptive epidemiology of occupational fatalities among EMS providers. Analysis was conducted by using data from 3 independent fatality databases: the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (1992 to 1997), the National EMS Memorial Service (1992 to 1997), and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (1994 to 1997). These rates were compared with the occupational fatality rates of police and firefighters and with the rate of all employed persons in the United States. RESULTS: The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries database documented 91 EMS provider occupational fatalities. The National EMS Memorial Service database contained 70 fatalities, and the Fatality Analysis Reporting System identified 8 ground-transportation EMS occupational fatalities. There was also wide variation in fatality counts by cause of injury. Using the highest cause-specific count from each of the databases, we estimate that there were at least 67 ground transportation-related fatalities, 19 air ambulance crash fatalities, 13 deaths resulting from cardiovascular incidents, 10 homicides, and 5 other causes, resulting in 114 EMS worker fatalities during these 6 years. We estimated a rate of 12.7 fatalities per 100,000 EMS workers annually, which compares with 14.2 for police, 16.5 for firefighters, and a national average of 5.0 during the same time period. CONCLUSION: This study identifies an occupational fatality rate for EMS workers that exceeds that of the general population and is comparable with that of other emergency public service workers.

Of course, keep in mind that in recent years being a flight nurse, flight paramedic or aeromedical helicopter pilot has been the most dangerous job in the United States.