Table 4.
Characteristics of work-related injuries among active female firefighters in the US and Canada, by department.
|
Entire sample (n = 1,160) |
Career (n = 824) |
Career/Volunteer (n = 220) |
Volunteer (n = 83) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median (Q1, Q3) | Median (Q1, Q3) | Median (Q1, Q3) | Median (Q1, Q3) | |
| Number time loss claims/respondent | 0 (0, 1) | 0 (0, 1) | 0 (0,1) | 0 (0, 0) |
| Average time loss/injured respondent (months) | 1 (0.5, 3) | 1.3 (0.5, 4) | 1 (0.4, 3.5) | 1 (0.6, 2) |
| N (%) | N (%) | N (%) | N (%) | |
| Injured at work | 742 (64) | 569 (69) | 137 (62) | 27 (33) |
| Injury severity a | ||||
| Reported only | 242 (21) | 192 (23) | 40 (18) | 8 (10) |
| First aid only | 170 (15) | 129 (16) | 33 (15) | 6 (7) |
| Treated by doctor only | 249 (21) | 192 (23) | 48 (22) | 8 (10) |
| <2 weeks lost work | 182 (16) | 143 (17) | 33 (15) | * |
| 2–4 weeks lost work | 106 (9) | 86 (10) | 15 (7) | * |
| >4 weeks lost work | 285 (25) | 225 (27) | 51 (23) | 7 (8) |
| Life-threatening injury | 15 (1) | 13 (2) | 0 (0) | * |
| Injury time loss claim (n = 741, 569, 136, 27) | 339 (46) | 265 (47) | 61 (45) | 8 (30) |
| Returned to work | 318 (94) | 247 (93) | 59 (97) | 8 (100) |
| All injury time-loss claims (n = 339) | Career injury time-loss claims (n = 265) | Career/Volunteer injury time-loss claims (n = 61) | Volunteer injury time-loss claims (n = 8) | |
| N (%) | N (%) | N (%) | N (%) | |
| Event during injury | ||||
| Fire ground | 97 (29) | 78 (29) | 12 (20) | * |
| Other on-duty | 93 (27) | 75 (28) | 15 (25) | * |
| Training | 68 (20) | 49 (18) | 18 (30) | * |
| Non-fire emergency | 63 (19) | 52 (20) | 9 (15) | * |
| In-transit | 18 (5) | 11 (4) | 7 (11) | 0 (0) |
| Protective equipment worn while injured | 233 (69) | 182 (69) | 41 (67) | 6 (80) |
| Pre-existing condition contributed to injury | 26 (8) | 20 (8) | 5 (8) | 0 (0) |
| Injury type a | ||||
| Strain/sprain/muscle pain | 188 (55) | 138 (52) | 41 (67) | 7 (90) |
| Dislocation/fracture | 75 (22) | 64 (24) | 10 (16) | 0 (0) |
| Wound/cut/bleeding/bruise | 30 (9) | 23 (9) | 6 (10) | 0 (0) |
| Other respiratory distress | 8 (2) | 5 (2) | * | 0 (0) |
| Eye injury | 7 (2) | 5 (2) | * | 0 (0) |
| Smoke/gas inhalation | 6 (2) | 5 (2) | * | 0 (0) |
| Thermal stress | * | * | * | 0 (0) |
| Fire/chemical burn | * | * | * | 0 (0) |
| Act of violence | * | * | * | * |
| Other injury | 93 (27) | 75 (28) | 15 (25) | * |
| Injured body part a | ||||
| Extremity | 94 (28) | 75 (28) | 15 (25) | * |
| Back | 83 (24) | 64 (24) | 16 (26) | * |
| Shoulder/chest | 68 (20) | 53 (20) | 14 (23) | 0 (0) |
| Hand | 42 (12) | 34 (13) | 7 (11) | * |
| Foot | 31 (9) | 24 (9) | 6 (20) | * |
| Head/face | 25 (7) | 17 (6) | 6 (10) | * |
| Abdomen | 6 (2) | 5 (2) | * | 0 (0) |
| Other | 51 (15) | 42 (16) | 7 (11) | * |
| Contributing factor a | ||||
| Human error | 76 (22) | 60 (23) | 12 (20) | * |
| Firefighter fatigue | 34 (10) | 24 (9) | 8 (13) | * |
| Lack of situational awareness | 31 (9) | 24 (9) | 6 (10) | 0 (0) |
| Weather/act of nature | 30 (9) | 24 (9) | 5 (8) | * |
| Decision making | 28 (8) | 25 (9) | * | 0 (0) |
| Equipment failure | 25 (7) | 19 (7) | 6 (10) | 0 (0) |
| Lack of communication | 22 (6) | 18 (7) | * | * |
| Crew size | 17 (5) | 14 (5) | * | * |
| Lack of wellness/fitness | 16 (5) | 12 (5) | * | 0 (0) |
| Lack of teamwork | 14 (4) | 11 (4) | * | 0 (0) |
| Officer/incident command | 11 (3) | 10 (4) | * | 0 (0) |
| Dangerous substance | 9 (3) | 7 (3) | * | 0 (0) |
| Civilian error | 8 (2) | 5 (2) | * | 0 (0) |
| Lack of training | 8 (2) | 8 (3) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) |
| Structural failure | 7 (2) | 7 (3) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) |
| Act of violence | 6 (2) | * | * | * |
| Standard operating guideline/procedure breach | 5 (1) | * | * | 0 (0) |
| Protective equipment not worn | * | * | * | 0 (0) |
| Protocol breach | * | * | 0 (0) | 0 (0) |
| Horseplay | * | * | 0 (0) | 0 (0) |
| Return to work schedule a | ||||
| Modified duties | 118 (35) | 93 (35) | 21 (34) | * |
| Graduated return | 100 (29) | 72 (27) | 21 (34) | * |
| Other supports | 62 (18) | 48 (18) | 13 (21) | * |
| New policy made directly resulting from injury | 30 (9) | 23 (9) | 5 (8) | * |
a
Questions in which participants could select multiple answers.
*
Fewer than 5 respondents.