This Fire Fighter Fatality Map application combines information about NIOSH fatality investigations with incident data from the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) to: (1) identify fire fighter fatalities being investigated by NIOSH; (2) identify completed investigations with links to final NIOSH reports, and (3) provide interactive map, tabular statistics, and case listing access to data on all U.S. fire fighter on-duty deaths.

Data are updated as new information is made available to NIOSH. When NIOSH decides to investigate a fatal incident, the map status indicator is changed to "pending." Only selected incidents are investigated. When NIOSH releases an investigation report the map status indicator is changed to "completed" and the report is linked.

The application’s search capabilities allow users to focus on specific characteristics or types of fatality investigations. The multiple data views provide a wide spectrum of possible uses for a broad audience. However, because of limitations in the fatal incident location data the site is not intended for advanced geospatial analyses.

NIOSH investigations: The NIOSH Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program investigates selected fatal incidents and produces a final report with safety recommendations. Pending and completed NIOSH investigations are matched to the USFA incident data and indicated in the map and case listing views. Completed NIOSH investigative reports are linked via map info windows and the case listing.

Incident data: Fatality incident data displayed in the map and other data views are derived from the USFA. The statistics view provides tables of fire fighter characteristics and incident data that may be subset by NIOSH investigation status. Data displayed may not match fatality information published by USFA or other data sources because of data updates, corrections, or inclusion criteria.

Although NIOSH gratefully acknowledges the assistance of the USFA in providing data used in this mapping application, the site is independent of the USFA, and there is no implied or expressed endorsement of the content, results, or presentation format by the USFA.

Map locations: All fatality locations are approximate. Map markers indicate the location of fatal events based on the best available geographic information. When exact event location information is not available, the center of a zip code area, location of the fire department, the nearest city, or the geographic center of the state may be indicated. Where possible, obvious missing or erroneous geocoding data have been corrected to a more appropriate location by NIOSH.

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Search Criteria: By selecting specific case characteristics using the right-hand check boxes and pull-down lists, the map, statistics, and case listing views will include only deaths matching your search criteria.

The Map: Markers appear based on the search criteria used. Yellow markers indicate an ongoing NIOSH investigation. Blue markers indicate a completed NIOSH investigation. Red markers indicate other on-duty fire fighter deaths that are not currently being investigated by NIOSH. Purple multiple fatality markers indicate deaths with the same location attribute, but the deaths may not have occurred at the same time. Clicking on a marker expands an informational window showing the NIOSH investigation status with a link to the final investigation report, if available, and describing the deceased firefighter and the fatal incident.

Statistics: By selecting 1 or 2 categories in the fatality counts field a table of descriptive statistics is displayed for deaths matching your search criteria.

Case Listing: A simplified listing of all deaths meeting your search criteria is displayed. The listing includes NIOSH investigation status indicators and links to completed reports.

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