Purpose
The Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP) investigates deaths and serious injuries that occur on duty. The program determines if the incident classifies as trauma or medical. We do not investigate cancer deaths.
Trauma
FFFIPP investigates fireground and non-fireground deaths and serious injuries. These incidents may result from a variety of circumstances. Factors and examples include:
Structure
Residential, non-residential, collapse, flashover, arson, explosion
Training
Live fire, falls, motor vehicle
Water
Search & rescue, SCUBA diving
Miscellaneous
Other traumatic causes not categorized elsewhere
Medical
FFFIPP investigates medical line-of-duty deaths (LODDs) and serious injuries. Cardiovascular events, such as heart attack, and sudden cardiac death, have historically been the leading cause of these deaths. Other medical conditions that can cause or contribute to LODDs are heat stroke, rhabdomyolysis, diabetes, and less common disorders.
Our investigations assess workplace and personal factors that might have contributed to the incident. Factors and examples include:
Physical exertion, environmental conditions, and potential chemical exposures (in relation to the death)
Pre-placement and annual medical evaluations, return to work processes, mayday communications, on-scene treatment and transport procedures, and more
Personal health
Pre-existing health conditions and management of those conditions, recent injuries/illnesses, and overall health and physical fitness conditions
By studying these factors, we aim to help fire departments improve safety and health programs to better protect firefighters from medical emergencies while on the job.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
The PPE component of FFFIPP can be included in trauma or medical investigations when the function or performance of respiratory protective equipment may have been a contributing factor to the LODD or serious injury. NIOSH is the federal agency responsible for evaluating and approving respirators used in U.S. workplace settings. Investigators from the NIOSH National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory conduct in-depth testing, visual inspection, and evaluation related to the performance of self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBAs).
Cancer
We do not investigate cancer deaths. While these deaths are beyond the scope of the program, the information is still important to the firefighter community. NIOSH wants to understand and reduce the risk of cancer in the fire service through the National Firefighter Registry (NFR) for Cancer. All U.S. firefighters—whether they’ve had cancer or not—can join the NFR and tell the NFR about their time in the fire service. This helps NIOSH identify factors that relate to cancer outcomes over time. Having many types of firefighters join the NFR is crucial to examining relationships between firefighter activities and cancer. NIOSH encourages all firefighters to participate in the NFR.