Journal article
Fire characteristics associated with firefighter injury on large federal wildland fires
Annals of epidemiology, Vol.23(2), pp.37-42
02/2013
DOI: 10.1016/j.annepidem.2012.11.001
PMID: 23212031
Abstract
Wildland fires present many injury hazards to firefighters. We estimate injury rates and identify fire-related factors associated with injury.
Data from the National Interagency Fire Center from 2003 to 2007 provided the number of injuries in which the firefighter could not return to his or her job assignment, person-days worked, and fire characteristics (year, region, season, cause, fuel type, resistance to control, and structures destroyed). We assessed fire-level risk factors of having at least one reported injury using logistic regression. Negative binomial regression was used to examine incidence rate ratios associated with fire-level risk factors.
Of 867 fires, 9.5% required the most complex management and 24.7% required the next-highest level of management. Fires most often occurred in the western United States (82.8%), during the summer (69.6%), caused by lightening (54.9%). Timber was the most frequent fuel source (40.2%). Peak incident management level, person-days of exposure, and the fire's resistance to control were significantly related to the odds of a fire having at least one reported injury. However, the most complex fires had a lower injury incidence rate than less complex fires.
Although fire complexity and the number of firefighters were associated with the risk for at least one reported injury, the more experienced and specialized firefighting teams had lower injury incidence.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Fire characteristics associated with firefighter injury on large federal wildland fires
- Creators
- Carla Britton - Department of Epidemiology, University of Iowa, IACharles F Lynch - Department of Epidemiology, University of Iowa, IAJames Torner - Department of Epidemiology, University of Iowa, IACorinne Peek-Asa - Injury Prevention Research Center, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, IA
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Annals of epidemiology, Vol.23(2), pp.37-42
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.annepidem.2012.11.001
- PMID
- 23212031
- NLM abbreviation
- Ann Epidemiol
- ISSN
- 1047-2797
- eISSN
- 1873-2585
- Publisher
- Elsevier Inc
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 02/2013
- Academic Unit
- Public Health Administration; Occupational and Environmental Health; Epidemiology; Surgery; Nursing; Injury Prevention Research Center; Public Policy Center (Archive); Neurosurgery
- Record Identifier
- 9983995118602771
Metrics
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