The circumstances of work-related injuries and death of the personnel of the Federal Fire Service of the EMERCOM of Russia (2010–2020)

Relevance. Extreme work conditions of firefighting personnel contribute to the overstrain of the functional body reserves and may determine increased rates of industrial injuries.

Intention. To analyze the circumstances of work-related injuries and deaths of personnel (employees with special military ranks and workers) of the Federal Fire Service (FFS) of the EMERCOM of Russia in 2010–2020.

Methodology. We compiled an analytical statistical dataset of industrial injuries (including fatal outcomes) regarding the personnel of the FFS of EMERCOM of Russia, which covered the period of 11 years, from 2010 to 2020. We used the statistical data from the industry resources, which included the indicators of morbidity, injury, disability and death in the personnel of the EMERCOM of Russia. We calculated the work-related injury rates by 14 types of circumstances as mentioned in statistical reports, per 10,000 firefighters; on-duty death rates were calculated per 100,000. The arithmetic means and their errors (M ± m) are presented. Industrial injuries and death rates among firefighters were compared vs workforce in the Russian economy.

Results and Discussion. The average annual rate of industrial injuries in firefighters was (11.10 ± 1.84) per 10 thousand firefighters vs (15.09 ± 1.21) per 10 thousand Russian workforce. Decreasing rates of work-related injuries among firefighters and overall in Russia have been observed. There was a high consistency in the trends of industrial injuries among workers in Russia and among the firefighters, which may indicate the influence of unidirectional factors. Among industrial injuries of firefighters, fire-fighting operations accounted for 40.5 % of cases, daily activities – for 39.7 %, professional training and sports events – for 19.8 %. The average annual death rates in firefighters were (7.30 ± 0.65) per 100 thousand, including firefighting operations (4.86 ± 0,51), daily activities (2.44 ± 0.26). The work-related death rate among workers in Russia – (6.75 ± 0.48) per 100 thousand. The dynamics of a decrease in the death rate of firefighters and workers in Russia has been revealed. The consistency of the trends in the deaths of Russian workers and firefighters is moderate and positive, but statistically unreliable. The leading circumstances of industrial injuries among firefighters were personal negligence (40.1%), falls from height (13.5 %), road traffic accidents (12.6 %), structural failures and collapses (10.7 %), exposure to extreme temperatures (4.1 %). The above circumstances accounted for 81% of the industrial injuries. The major circumstances of death were fatal injuries associated with structural failures and collapses (24.6 %), road traffic accidents (22 %), poisoning by combustion products (12.9 %), with explosion of gas cylinders or gas-air mixture (11.3 %) and falls from height (9.5 %). These circumstances accounted for 80.3 % of total on-duty deaths of firefighters.

Conclusion. With exact and accurate recording of all injuries, traumatism is a manageable process. Analysis of the types of activities and circumstances of injury (including fatal outcomes) will help prevent industrial injuries among firefighters and reduce on- duty death rates.

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