It has become common practice to thank first responders for their selfless service to their communities. Beyond thanking them, it’s also important to understand who comprises this workforce, what types of health and safety risks they face and their rights to compensation when they become injured or sickened.
Occupational Hazards in Firefighting
Firefighters have played a critical role in the U.S. since before the nation’s founding. But as long as firefighting has been present, so have firefighting injuries. (Click here for Ohio firefighter injury resources).
In 1736, following a large fire in Boston, Massachusetts, a group of community members gathered together and formed the first fire department on American soil. Boston imported a fire engine from England, and the city employed a fire chief and 12 firefighters. That same year, Philadelphia launched the first-ever volunteer-led firefighting organization, and both municipal and volunteer firefighting groups spread from there.[1]
With almost three centuries of service, there has been plenty of time to study occupational hazards in firefighting. While firefighters expect their duties to be dangerous, they don’t always understand that their workplace injuries and later-discovered diseases could qualify for workers’ compensation claims.
Firefighters in Ohio and across the U.S. routinely face health risks and firefighting injuries. In 2023, Ohio firefighters submitted 33,069 workers’ compensation claims, with 11,152 being lost-time claims and 21,917 being medical-only. According to the data, the most common injuries were overexertion, being struck by objects, and other exertions/bodily reactions.[2]
Some of these injuries include:
- Extreme temperatures. Whether responding to a fire at a residential home, a commercial building, or even a vehicle fire, firefighters regularly put themselves near extreme temperatures. Such temps can lead to heat stress, heat exhaustion, and heatstroke.
- Burns. The nature of a firefighting activity puts one near open flame, heightening the risk for first-, second-, and third-degree burns. Such injuries can be permanent, sometimes even fatal.
- Slips, trips, and falls. Climbing ladders, navigating uneven terrain, and entering buildings that are experiencing rapid structural deterioration due to fire means firefighters are at heightened risk for injuries caused by slipping, tripping, and falling.
- Overexertion. The sheer physical demands of a firefighter often lead to overexertion, which can cause cardiovascular injuries and other injuries while on the job.
- Respiratory illnesses. Firefighters are exposed to toxic chemicals in smoke, gases, and other particulate matter that can lead to long-term respiratory illnesses. Some hazardous materials, when combusted, can be extremely dangerous to one’s health, like carbon monoxide, asbestos, and PFAS (forever chemicals).
- Impact injuries. During a fire, the sudden ignition of flammable materials can cause explosions, severely injuring firefighters and potentially leading to fatalities.
- Hearing loss. Exposure to loud noises (which are common in firefighting) can lead to hearing loss over time.
- Cancer, cardiovascular disease, mental health issues, and disabling musculoskeletal injuries. Due to the high-risk factors associated with firefighting and the use of firefighter foam, firefighters are at high risk of developing chronic illnesses and serious long-term injuries and conditions like cancer, heart disease, mental health disorders, and debilitating injuries.
Firefighting Hazards, A Look at the Statistics
A quick look at firefighting injury statistics reveals the dangers associated with this profession. According to the U.S. Fire Administration:[3]
- Overextension and strain cause about 29% of all firefighter injuries.
- The U.S. records about 22,590 nonfatal firefighter injuries each year.
- Sudden cardiac arrest in the line of duty is the leading cause of firefighter death.
- About 13.3 firefighters die each year in the line of duty for every one million firefighters.
- About 42% of firefighting injuries are sustained while responding to a fire. Some occur during training.
- In 2023, 89 firefighters died in the line of duty, a decrease from 97 fatalities in 2022 yet higher than most years.
Safety Risks in Policing
Like firefighters, law enforcement officers are responsible for protecting their communities, even if it means putting themselves in harm’s way. And because police officers respond to a wide variety of emergencies, they expose themselves to a long list of potential health risks.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, from 2001 to 2019, there were a total of 50,793 identified workers’ comp claims among Ohio law enforcement officers. The majority of the claims (88%) were from male officers and 92% were from those aged 25−54 years. The data suggests officers often suffer multiple work-related injuries. Seventy-five percent of claims were from officers with more than one claim, and of these, 34% were from an Ohio law enforcement officer with five or more claims.[4]
According to the National Policing Institute, the most common occupational hazards in policing and policing injuries include:[5]
- Physical assaults and injuries. When responding to scenes involving violent individuals, law enforcement officers are at risk for physical harm, including being assaulted and receiving injuries in the process of carrying out an arrest.
- Motor vehicle accidents. One of the most common ways police officers become injured in the line of work is by being involved in motor vehicle accidents.
- Exposure to illicit substances. While performing pat-down searches on suspects, officers can experience needle stick injuries or skin-on-skin contact with illicit substances. That can lead to serious health risks.
- Long-term musculoskeletal injuries. Due to the physical demands of the job and poor ergonomics at workstations and in law enforcement vehicles, officers may experience musculoskeletal injuries over time.
- Cardiovascular problems. The stressful nature of policing can lead to cardiovascular health conditions, especially after many years of policing.
- Mental health conditions. Law enforcement officers are at heightened risk of suffering from occupational stress, PTSD, substance abuse problems, depression, and anxiety.
Statistics on Risks to Law Enforcement Officers
Due to the demanding nature of the job, law enforcement officers are at high risk of injury and death. For example, between about 80 and 140 law enforcement officers lose their lives in the line of duty each year. Another 6,000-7,000 experience nonfatal injuries involving assaults and other violent encounters with suspects. That makes policing one of the most dangerous jobs in the country, particularly among public sector jobs.[6]
Health Risks in Emergency Medical Services
While the risks associated with working in the first-response sector of medicine are not as well known as those associated with firefighting and policing, this field is just as dangerous, if not more so. According to one study, Ohio emergency medical first responders are at high risk of injuring their back, shoulders, and knees.[7]
Experts say emergency medical responder injuries are so common because first responders are statistically more likely to be in close proximity to a slightly higher frequency of dangerous emergencies than most law enforcement officers and firefighters will experience throughout their careers, thus putting EMS responders in harm’s way more often.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, rates of injuries and fatalities among medical responders are in the ‘high’ category due primarily to their frequent need to lift heavy objects (like injured patients). Medical responders are also very often exposed to communicable illnesses and hazardous substances. They are also often involved in dangerous scenarios during transport in emergency vehicles, due to an unruly or violent patient, or due to traffic accidents while being transported to a hospital.
Some of the other occupational hazards in emergency medical services include:[8]
- Violent encounters with injured and ill patients. Responding to emergency scenes where patients or bystanders are agitated or violent can lead to harm to the responder.
- Extreme physical and psychological stress factors. The CDC rates EMT and paramedic jobs as some of the most stressful of all types of jobs performed in the U.S., which can lead to physical and mental health problems, including but not limited to fatigue, burnout, and mental illnesses.
- Harmful substance exposure. Emergency medical responders are often exposed to pharmaceuticals, medicines, illicit substances, and other hazardous materials, leading to a high incident rate of poisonings among EMTs and paramedics.
- Exposure to infectious diseases. While working with an injured or ill patient, EMTs and paramedics are at high risk of needle sticks (exposure to contaminated needles), and they can also become exposed to contaminated blood, bodily fluids, and respiratory secretions. That can lead to the transmission of diseases like hepatitis, HIV, and tuberculosis, to name a few.
- Musculoskeletal injuries. Like firefighters and law enforcement officers, medical responders are at heightened risk of falls and injuries sustained due to overexertion, as their jobs take them into unsafe environments where they often must lift and move injured patients.
Statistical Data Analyzing Safety Risks for First Responders
In most years, fewer emergency medical service (EMS) responders are killed in the line of work as compared to firefighters and police officers. On the other hand, far more medical responders suffer injuries than firefighters or police officers. About a dozen EMS workers die in the line of work annually, and about 8,000 become seriously injured while working.[9]
To put those figures into context, the injury rate for EMS workers is about four times higher than the rate for all U.S. workers, according to an organization that studies health risks for EMTs and paramedics. Further, the rate of EMS vehicle-related accidents, injuries, and fatalities is much higher than for the average American, as their role involves transporting injured or sickened people during emergency conditions.
First Responders Put Their Lives on the Line Every Day. They Deserve the Best Care.
The common denominator that connects firefighters, law enforcement officers, and emergency medical responders is that they regularly put their lives at risk to protect their community members’ lives. First responder jobs involve hard work, long hours, and much lower pay than high-hazard work done in the private sector, despite their careers embodying the ethos of public service.
For these reasons and many others, first responders deserve the best care possible when injured or sickened in the line of work. Sadly, injured first responders may not know their rights, and it’s not unusual for them to be employed by municipalities that do not appropriately inform them of their rights as injured workers.
Advocating for the Rights of Injured First Responders
NRS Injury Law has been at the forefront of the campaign to ensure that firefighters, police officers, and emergency medical responders in Ohio are given the benefits they are entitled to when injured in the line of work. In addition to representing first responders and helping them get the compensation they deserve for their injuries, NRS Injury Law attorneys play a critical role as industry leaders by attending conferences and speaking at union symposiums to educate union leaders about available resources for their membership. NRS Injury Law Attends IAFF Symposium
To learn more about the rights of firefighters, law enforcement officers, and emergency medical responders who have been injured or sickened, call 855-GOT-HURT or fill out a convenient NRS Online Contact Form.
Disclaimer: The information in this blog post (“post”) is provided for general informational purposes only, and may not reflect the current law in your jurisdiction. No information contained in this post should be construed as legal advice, nor is it intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter. No reader of this post should act or refrain from acting on the basis of any information included in, or accessible through this Post without seeking the appropriate legal or other professional advice on the particular facts and circumstances at issue from a lawyer licensed in the recipient’s state, country or other appropriate licensing jurisdiction.
Sources:
[1] Charleston SC. “When was the first fire department organized in the United States?” Charleston, South Carolina, 2025. charleston-sc.gov
[2] USFA. “Ohio Fire Loss and Fire Department Profile.” United States Fire Administration, 2025. usfa.fema.gov
[3] USFA. “Fire-Related Firefighter Injuries Reported to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (2015-2017).” United States Fire Administration, 2018. usfa.fema.gov
[4] CDC. “On-Duty Injuries Among Ohio Law Enforcement Officers.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2023. cdc.gov
[5] PI. “The Role of Law Enforcement Culture in Officer Safety During Driving and Roadway Operations.” Policing Institute, 2024. policinginstitute.org
[6] UIC. “Law Enforcement Safety.” University of Illinois Chicago, 2024. policeepi.uic.edu
[7] SJ. “The impact of emergency responder musculoskeletal injuries in the state of Ohio.” Sage Journals, 2021. journals.sagepub.com
[8] CDC. “About EMS Clinician Safety.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2025. cdc.gov
[9] EMS. “Occupational risks for EMS personnel in the United States.” EMS 1, 2025. ems1.com
