The American fire service suffered another staggering year of loss in 2002, said U.S. Fire Administrator R. David Paulison. More than 84 communities and 33 states suffered losses.  We need to continue to work to reduce these deaths.  Our goal is a 25 percent reduction within five years and a 50 percent reduction within 10 years.According to the report:23 firefighters died in wildland firefighting incidents, primarily in California and Colorado where the fire season was especially severe; Five firefighters from Oregon, traveling to fight a fire in Colorado, were killed when their van was involved in a crash;Six deaths occurred as a result of three wildland firefighting aircraft crashes Two St. Louis firefighters died when they were trapped in a burning business;Three New Jersey firefighters were killed when a burning residential structure collapsed on them as they were searching for victims;11 firefighters were killed during training exercises; Four firefighters died in separate incidents when they were struck by passing vehicles while working incidents on roadways;

A fire chief in New Mexico was killed by a gunshot suffered while on the scene of a structure fire and six other firefighters were murdered in arson-caused or suspicious fires; 37 firefighters died on duty from heart attacks; Career firefighters constituted 34 of the deaths in 2002, with volunteer, seasonal and part-time firefighters comprising the remainder; 95 of the deaths were men and five were women.

The deaths in 2002 mark the fifth time in the past decade that firefighter fatalities reached or exceeded 100.

Article submitted by Bill Deckett - Thanks Bill

Fallen Firefighter in 2002