Gordon Graham here with my first piece for 2009 here at Fire Nuggets. My continued thanks to Paul and Ted for all the great work put into keeping this site up- to- date and so professionally done.

And to all of you who take the time out of your busy day to glance at this site (and other similar sites) thanks for your efforts in improving your performance as a firefighter. Continual improvement is a big part of being a professional – and the mere fact that you are on this site says a lot about you.

And to those of you who read, think and then make comments, thanks for the comments regarding my last piece on “suicide.”  We cannot eliminate all of these tragic events, but we can address this “identifiable risk” and do something about it prior to occurrence. And with all the issues going on in life today – this is one that needs our constant attention.

Anyhow, what am I thinking about today that would cause me to generate this piece? I was perusing some law enforcement sites this morning, and I came across a piece involving line-of-duty deaths ( LODD’s) in law enforcement in 2008. Now, please don’t stop reading here because you think this is my focus today. Well, it is my focus; but there is a point to be made here that a lot of people are missing.

People who collect and study data have determined that fewer police officers died in the line of duty in 2008 compared to 2007. Officer deaths in 2008 totaled 140, compared to 181 in 2007. That is good news. There is some great news later in this piece, but hold on for just a bit.

And if you want some specifics regarding these 2008 LODD’s, deaths by gunfire dropped to 41 officers in 2008, compared to 68 in 2007. The 2008 number represented the lowest total since 1956, when there were 35, and was far below the peak of 156 officers killed by gunfire in 1973. And not digressing, but that was the year I started my career; and I can recall many of these murders. This will all start to tie together in a moment, so please read on.

Traffic-related deaths also declined, with 71 officers killed this year, compared to 83 in 2007. It was the 11th consecutive year that more officers were killed in traffic incidents than from any other cause. And if you want to draw a link here, you know that traffic is the number two killer of firefighters – right behind all the coronary stuff. More on this in just a bit, I promise!

Then the article gets into the big discussion of why the deaths in my profession have decreased; and the reasons cited are more use of bullet resistant vests, increased use of TASERs, better high- speed driver training, better safety equipment inside the patrol cars, and more bad people staying in jail, yada, yada, yada.

What is glaringly absent though (and I wonder why) is the real reason that law enforcement officer deaths are down – not just between 2008 and 2007 (a difference of 41) but the much bigger picture between 1973 (in which 267 law enforcement officers died around America) and 2008, in which we lost “only” 140 – a difference of 127.

This seems incongruent because over the last 35 years we have seen a big increase in the number of cops around America (the pool has grown much larger) and the level of violence against cops has increased substantially. More crazy people are driving with more and more distractions, causing them to hit cops accidentally. So what is the real reason that law enforcement deaths have decreased so dramatically?

The answer to that question is obvious (it is to me anyhow). For all of you reading this site who participate in “pre- hospital care” — the ALS and BLS and EMT and paramedics and all the others who participate in quickly arriving and treating injured cops, a sincere thank you from this retired cop. And on behalf of the million or so women and men who are working in the job today, a sincere thank you from them also.

You are the real reason why deaths in my profession have almost been halved over the last thirty-five years. Oh, yes, I agree with all the “experts” who talk about training, tactics and protective equipment; but I can squarely put this tremendous drop in law enforcement deaths right on the EMT/paramedic crowd. So there!

And now that I have sufficiently thanked you for your efforts in protecting my profession, why don’t you take the time to do the same for yours. The same people who study police data study fire data. And here is a piece of data that is troubling to me.

Having over a hundred firefighters die in 2008 is unacceptable. And remember – you guys don’t get “murdered” all that often, although I will always remember the 343 murders from seven years ago at the hands of those radical Islamic terrorists that many people have forgotten about.

Your deaths have a different cause, but we can identify the reasons why you die and then do something to prevent these deaths. The coronary issues are an identifiable risk. Please familiarize yourself with the data collected by your own internal groups regarding this issue  and recognize what the risks are. Prioritize it (it is the No. 1 killer for the last decade), and then mobilize – act – to do something to prevent this from happening.

Please take a look at the No. 2 cause of death in your business — the traffic stuff.  This is totally unacceptable! Be acutely aware of the importance of wearing your seatbelts. I am fed up with reading about the “ejections” and other factors that tell me there was no seatbelt being used; and also be aware of the tremendous risks involved in working on or near a roadway.

These “roadway incursions” are increasingly killing more and more first responders — and again this is an identifiable risk; so manage this risk also. If you have not been to the great (and free) website www.respondersafety.com, make it a point to visit this site often and talk to your co-workers about this issue.

I am incompetent to talk about “fireground” activities, but you are not, so please rethink the way you do business when working those types of events.

Anyhow, that is all for today. Again thanks for all your work in saving cops lives. And remember to take care of yourself also. I wish you a very safe 2009 and look forward to seeing you in this New Year!

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