Who reports the information?

The United States Fire Administration is the national reporting agency for US LODD. The USFA does not have a Line-of-Duty-Death (LODD) criterion nor does it make LODD determinations. Visit the USFA LODD webpage for more information on US LODD.

Note, running totals of firefighter fatalities used on these initial notices do not necessarily reflect the number of firefighter fatalities used in totals for the (provisional) monthly year-to-date USFA firefighter fatality reports, or year-end (provisional) reports posted online (http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/fireservice/fatalities/statistics/ff_stats.shtm). Firefighter fatalities in USFA reports are summarized by date/year-of-incident. Initial notices posted online (http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/fireservice/fatalities/) and distributed via USFA listserve do not represent the final on-duty firefighter fatality determination by USFA for such reports, nor LODD determination made by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (http://www.FireHero.org) for names added each subsequent year to the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial at the National Fire Academy in  Emmitsburg, MD, they are the beginning of a research process for each firefighter fatality reported so that such determinations can be made.

LODD (Line-Of-Duty-Deaths)

Every year firefighters die in the Line of Duty. Many of these deaths are results of structural failure of a building on fire, struck on scene by passing motor vehicles, over taken by smoke or flame spread. However many of the Line of Duty Deaths reported are resulting from cardiac related causes. It goes without mentioning that firefighting is inherently dangerous and the danger of death and injury are present in large metropolitan settings such as NYC all the way down to the small rural areas. In 2008 a local department in Virginia close to McDowell suffered just such a loss.

The losses that our departments suffer can not go unnoticed. Departments across the country as well as around the world need to learn from these devastating losses. Investigations and reports are completed to assist the fire service in making the appropriate changes and attempt to prevent such incidents from striking the service again. One such program that has been devised due to the overwhelming numbers of firefighter fatalities from lack of seatbelt use in an accident is the SeatBelt Pledge. For more information visit our Safety Page or go directly to the National Seatbelt Pledge.

In 2009, The US Fire Service saw 93 LODD while in 2008 there were 114 firefighter fatalities were reported to USFA in as a result of incidents that occurred in while in the Line Of Duty. 

If your department has the devastating event of a LODD, here is a resource site to assist in the process that needs to be completed. The website also has planning tools to have plans and policies in place prior to an event occurs. Visit www.firehero.org for further assistance.

To date, 43 firefighter fatalities have been reported to USFA in 2010 as a result of incidents that occurred in the Line Of Duty. 

What if your department suffers a LODD?