Station Duties Injuries & Lost Time

In our last blog entry we presented information on how many injuries were occurring during Station Duties.  This week we’re going to take a look how these injuries lead to lost time within your departments.

Check out the severity of the Station Duties injuries reported between Jan. 31, 2011 and Jan. 31, 2012:

Severity of Injuries - Station Duties - click to enlarge

69 percent of the reported injuries were minor. Departments did not lose employee time when these occurred.  The remaining 32 percent of the reported injuries were more serious and cost the reporting departments a great deal in wages (ex: OT), productivity losses, medical expenses, and administrative expenses.

Check out the number of departments affected by lost time injuries:

# of  days missed	1-30	31-90	90+	Not yet returned to work
# of departments affected	115	29	15	30

While the majority of the departments have their employees returning to full duties within 30 days, there are still a significant number of departments with additional lost work time.  Looking at these numbers, you can see that there are many avoidable injuries occurring during station duties, and that they can cost departments a great deal of lost time.  Emphasizing the importance of being mindful, careful, and taking your time during your station duties – and avoiding injuries in the process - is an easy way to save money for your department. 

Need more information on the cost of injuries?
Our blog posts in April will focus on more details surrounding the cost of all injuries, and how you can use the trends we see to determine how injuries can affect your budget.  Until then, if you have any questions regarding our lost time data, or would like any other information on these topics, please contact our Injury Reporting staff directly.

 
Do you know how many days of work your employees are missing due to injury?

Have you considered how this is impacting your budget?

Is this information that your ESD Board or City Council would find interesting in order to help you with your budget?

Station Duties Leading to Injuries

Station Duties are the third most common activities leading to the firefighter injuries you are reporting to us.  The injuries run the gamut from slips and falls, to stepping in potholes, to running into doors, to picking up and moving equipment and household items, to fighting with hydrants, to raising and lowering ladders, and to stepping on and off apparatus.   

Injuries by Activity - Station Duties - click to enlarge

The top 6 body parts being injured during Station Duties are hands and fingers, backs, knees, shoulders, ankles, and multiple body parts.  

Top 6 Body Parts Injured - Station Duties - click to enlarge

The types of injuries occurring during Station Duties vary, but as you can see, strains/ sprains are the most common.  These injuries are followed most frequently by contusions/bruises and cuts/lacerations.

Top 10 Injury Type - Station Duties - click to enlarge

Check out some examples of the injuries you’ve reported that have occurred during Station Duties:

Injury	Body Part	Injury Descriptions
Contusion/bruise, minor trauma	Foot and toes	Firefighter was injured when a plug cap slipped out of coworker's hand and fell and hit employee, during fire hydrant maintenance.
Contusion/bruise, minor trauma	Multiple body parts, upper body	While checking equipment at shift change and exiting the apparatus, employee lost balance falling off step.
Cut or laceration	Hand and fingers	Firefighter reports that during equipment check at the fire station he opened the fire engine compartment door and an axe fell out striking/lacerating his left little finger.
Cut or laceration	Head, other	Employee stated while on duty at station, he was struck in the forehead by a falling machine causing laceration to head.
Cut or laceration	Wrist	While placing a cutting board and filet knife in the sink the firefighter accidentally stabbed himself in the right wrist. Knife went in approx 3/4 - 1".  Went to doctor for treatment.
Strain-sprain	Ankle	While walking around the truck, firefighter stepped off the sidewalk and rolled the right ankle.  Firefighter was connecting fire hose to truck during testing of pump operations.
Strain-Sprain	Arm, lower, not including elbow or wrist	The firefighter was pulling an extension ladder out of its cradle on a ladder truck when he felt a pull in his right forearm.  The pain has worsened over the last week.
Strain-Sprain	Back, except spine	Obtained a muscle strain to his lower back while moving an extrication power unit from one apparatus to another.  Was using improper carrying techniques to prevent getting his uniform dirty.  No pain noted at the time, but severe back pain appeared within 24 hrs.
Strain-sprain	Shoulder	Fire Fighter was doing morning equipment check at time of injury. The Fire Fighter attempted to pull start the hydraulic power unit for the rescue tools when the engine kicked back and strained his shoulder.

How can you avoid these injuries?

First, be careful.  When you’re at the station, unlike when you’re on the fire ground, you are not necessarily in a hurry.  Be sure to slow down and perform your duties carefully and thoughtfully.  Last September our blog posts focused on Strains & Sprains.  Revisit those posts for tips about how to avoid these very common types of injuries. 

Next week we’ll focus the blog post on the ways these seemingly avoidable injuries affect your department’s bottom line – lost time, in particular.  Lost time can get costly quickly, so check back here for details next week!

Do you see a lot of injuries occurring during Station Duties?

Have you actually hurt yourself while performing Station Duties?

Can you see any way these injuries could have been avoided?