In December 2017, the U. S. Fire Administration posted their report on firefighter fatalities for 2016.  Firefighter fatalities for 2016 were 89, down from 2015 by one. A summary of 2016 firefighter fatalities is as follows:

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An on-duty fatality includes any injury or illness that was sustained while on duty and proves fatal. The term “on duty” refers to being involved in operations at the scene of an emergency, whether it is a fire or nonfire incident; responding to, or returning from, an incident; performing other officially assigned duties, such as training, maintenance, public education, inspection, investigations, court testimony or fundraising; and being on call, under orders or on standby duty (except at the individual’s home or place of business). An individual who experiences a heart attack or other fatal injury at home, while he or she prepares to respond to an emergency, is considered on duty when the response begins. A firefighter who becomes ill while performing fire department duties and suffers a heart attack shortly after arriving home (or at another location) may be considered on duty since the inception of the heart attack occurred while the firefighter was on duty.

Fire more information and to download a full report in pdf format, visit https://www.usfa.fema.gov/data/statistics/