Line of Duty Death

A line of duty death (LODD) is a death in the fire service while on duty at an emergency or drill. On average, there are more than 100 LODDs in the United States per year. When a fire department loses a member in a LODD, it will commonly fly its flag at half-staff, and members will cover their badges with a mourning band. The Fire Department New York has a tradition of announcing deaths with four series of five bells (the four fives, 5-5-5-5).

All statistics

While the complexity of firefighting is increasing, due to everything from cars to chemicals, the number of LODDs is stagnant, or, if anything, decreasing.

Another factor is that a large number of LODDs - motor vehicle collisions - are preventable.

** The 2001 figure includes the 343 FDNY firefighters who were killed in the line of duty at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

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