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The price of doing business: Severe injuries in wildland firefighters by activity performed and hazard encountered
Wildland firefighters are exposed to hazards when working; these hazards can result in serious injury or death. Understanding the activities in which firefighters are engaged when they are injured, the hazards to which they were exposed during that activity that caused the injury, and the resulting injury severity is critical to manage risk of serious injury to firefighters. This presentation provides an overview of the activities, hazards and injury severities associated with wildland firefighter severe injuries. Aviation activities are associated with higher injury severity; there is no statistically significant difference in injury severity between other activity categories. Region and fire type do not impact injury severity. Injury frequency and severity vary between hazards and associated activities. Given the hazard mitigations already in place, reducing injury frequency and severity may be challenging without clearly defined agency level risk tolerances.