Great news regarding lowering the number of line of duty deaths...

Today the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) released its annual Firefighter Fatality Report showing a total of 61 on-duty firefighter deaths in the United States in 2011, the lowest annual total of firefighter deaths for the second consecutive year, as well as the lowest annual total in 35 years.

Report: Firefighter Fatalities in the United States - 2011

The decline of firefighter deaths occurred in the following areas:

• Lowest number of sudden cardiac deaths
• Lowest number of road vehicle crashes
• No aircraft or watercraft crashes
• The number of deaths while involved in training activities is the lowest since 1999
• Lowest number of volunteer firefighter deaths ever
• Lowest number of career firefighter deaths (tied with 1993)
• Lowest number of deaths while responding to or returning from alarms