Table 5.
Characteristics of work-related injuries among active female firefighters in the US and Canada, by country.
| Entire US sample (n = 772) | Entire Canada sample (n = 388) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Median (Q1, Q3) | Median (Q1, Q3) | p -value (α = 0.05) | |
| Number time loss claims/respondent | 0 (0, 1) | 0 (0, 0) | 0.015 |
| Average time loss/injured respondent (months) | 1.5 (0.5, 4) | 1 (0.3, 3) | 0.012 |
| N (%) | N (%) | p -value (α = 0.05) | |
| Injured at work | 554 (72) | 188 (48) | <0.001 |
| Injury severity a | 0.012 | ||
| Reported only | 178 (23) | 64 (16) | – |
| First aid only | 117 (15) | 53 (14) | – |
| Treated by doctor only | 185 (24) | 64 (16) | – |
| <2 weeks lost work | 134 (17) | 48 (12) | – |
| 2–4 weeks lost work | 77 (10) | 29 (7) | – |
| >4 weeks lost work | 238 (31) | 47 (12) | – |
| Life-threatening injury | 13 (2) | * | – |
| Injury time loss claim | 242 (31) | 97 (25) | 0.025 |
| Returned to work (n = 242, 97) | 228 (94) | 90 (93) | 0.621 |
| US injury time-loss claims (n = 242) | Canada injury time-loss claims (n = 97) | ||
| N (%) | N (%) | p -value (α = 0.05) | |
| Event during injury | 0.190 | ||
| Fire ground | 71 (29) | 26 (27) | – |
| Training | 54 (22) | 14 (14) | – |
| Non-fire emergency | 46 (19) | 17 (18) | – |
| In-transit | 10 (4) | 8 (8) | – |
| Other on-duty | 61 (25) | 32 (33) | – |
| Protective equipment worn while injured | 161 (67) | 72 (74) | 0.167 |
| Pre-existing condition contributed to injury | 14 (6) | 12 (12) | 0.039 |
| Injury type a | 0.074 | ||
| Strain/sprain/muscle pain | 129 (53) | 59 (61) | – |
| Dislocation/fracture | 57 (24) | 18 (19) | – |
| Wound/cut/bleeding/bruise | 19 (8) | 11 (11) | – |
| Other respiratory distress | 7 (3) | * | – |
| Eye injury | 7 (3) | 0 (0) | – |
| Smoke/gas inhalation | * | * | – |
| Thermal stress | * | * | – |
| Fire/chemical burn | * | 0 (0) | – |
| Act of violence | * | * | – |
| Other injury | 72 (30) | 21 (22) | – |
| Injured body part a | 0.589 | ||
| Extremity | 73 (30) | 21 (22) | – |
| Back | 60 (25) | 23 (24) | – |
| Shoulder/chest | 52 (21) | 16 (16) | – |
| Hand | 29 (12) | 13 (13) | – |
| Foot | 22 (9) | 9 (9) | – |
| Head/face | 15 (6) | 10 (10) | – |
| Abdomen | * | * | – |
| Other | 33 (14) | 18 (19) | – |
| Contributing factor a | 0.017 | ||
| Human error | 53 (22) | 23 (24) | – |
| Firefighter fatigue | 24 (10) | 10 (10) | – |
| Lack of situational awareness | 17 (7) | 14 (14) | – |
| Weather/act of nature | 16 (7) | 14 (14) | – |
| Decision making | 18 (7) | 10 (10) | – |
| Equipment failure | 15 (6) | 10 (10) | – |
| Lack of communication | 14 (8) | 8 (8) | – |
| Crew size | 16 (7) | * | – |
| Lack of wellness/fitness | 13 (5) | * | – |
| Lack of teamwork | 11 (5) | * | – |
| Officer/incident command | 6 (2) | 5 (5) | – |
| Dangerous substance | 8 (3) | * | – |
| Civilian error | 7 (3) | * | – |
| Lack of training | 5 (2) | * | – |
| Structural failure | 5 (2) | * | – |
| Act of violence | * | * | – |
| Standard operating guideline/procedure breach | 0 (0) | 5 (5) | – |
| Protective equipment not worn | * | * | – |
| Protocol breach | 0 (0) | * | – |
| Horseplay | 0 (0) | * | – |
| Return to work schedule a | 0.018 | ||
| Modified duties | 81 (33) | 37 (38) | – |
| Graduated return | 81 (33) | 19 (20) | – |
| Other supports | 38 (16) | 24 (25) | – |
| New policy made directly resulting from injury | 20 (8) | 10 (10) | 0.549 |
a
Questions in which participants could select multiple answers.
*
Fewer than 5 respondents.
Bolded p-values represent statistically significant differences (p ≤ 0.05).