Firefighters braving the heat, flames and treacherous conditions inside a burning building are more likely to die of a heart attack on the job than anything else, federal studies show.
Donald Franklin, who collapsed after fighting a blaze that killed a couple in their burning Bronx home Friday night, was the third city firefighter to die in as many months – all of heart attacks.
Firefighter deaths are down overall in recent years, thanks in large part to “bunker gear” that protects against burns and allows the city’s Bravest to go deeper into a structure fire.
But some firefighters say that the new gear’s protection from flames exposes them to other dangers, particularly from heat and exhaustion, pushing up the risk of heart attacks.
“It’s a Catch-22,” said Tom DaParma, a trustee with the Uniformed Fire Fighters Association and a 23-year veteran of the FDNY. “Burns have gone down, but heart attacks are up.”
“Bunker gear allows us to do our job better, getting right into a fire,” DaParma said. “The downside to that is that we’re in the middle of a fire and the core temperature of our body is really rising.”
Franklin, 42, was the first firefighter to die in the line of duty this year. Earlier this month, Gregg McLoughlin, 39, died of a heart attack just after his shift while running on a treadmill at Engine Co. 302 in Queens.
In November, firefighter Kenneth Kerr died of a heart attack at his Bronx firehouse moments after returning from battling a blaze. He was the only city firefighter to die in the line of duty during 2000.
Nationally, 30 of the 95 firefighters who died in action last year were felled by heart attacks. Motor-vehicle accidents while traveling to or from a fire scene were the second-leading cause of death, claiming 13 firefighters in 2000.