Firefighting is often conceived of by civilians as a heroic, brave occupation. While this is not untrue, in a significant number of cases, in cities across the nation, there are fire departments causing a great deal of harm to society, through tailing ambulances to and from non-fire emergency incidents, even committing arson in order to keep themselves and their government funding afloat.

The National Fire Protection Association reported that from their 2014 National Fire Experience Survey that Overall, the number of injuries at non-fire emergencies increased 34.2 percent between 1981 and 2014, from 9,600 to 14,595. During the same period, the number of non-fire emergencies also increased 292.5 percent, due in large part to an increase in the number of fire department responses to medical emergencies.

In 2013, CalWatchDog published an article citing national statistics that suggested firefighting in today's modern times to be one of the nation's safest jobs

FEMA: Firefighter Deaths

Data from FEMA in 2016 showed that 23 firefighters died while off-duty, 89 while on duty, from various causes.

Above: Firefighter deaths reported by the National Fire Incident System.
SOURCE: https://www.usfa.fema.gov/data/statistics/

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/hey_wait_a_minute/2003/10/smoke_and_mirrors.html

SOURCE: "The Bureau of Labor Statistics collects nationwide information on work-related fatal injuries in its Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) which was conducted for the first time in 1992. Each work-related fatal injury is identified, verified, and profiled using multiple source documents; these diverse data sources include death certificates, workers' compensation records, and reports to federal and state agencies. Cross-referencing these documents provides detailed information about each work related fatality including worker characteristics, equipment involved, circumstances of the event, and details of the injury. The detailed data are then aggregated and used to promote safety efforts by employers, employees, and others."