Arizona deaths only example of widespread danger

Our hearts go out to the families, friends and comrades of the 19 brave young firefighters who were killed in the wildfire at Yarnell, Arizona.

The tinder-dry conditions and shifting winds that forced them to take desperate measures to try to survive are among the threats most frightening to veteran firefighters.

It was the greatest loss of life among firefighters since the September 11 attacks, when 341 firefighters were among the 412 emergency workers who were killed responding to the World Trade Center.

Unfortunately, the tragedy was not all that unusual. Only a few months ago, in April, 10 responders were killed in the fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas.

The firehouse.com site keeps track of firefighter deaths around the country, most of which we don't hear about.

A recent sampling: A West Virginia firefighter dies at a mobile home fire. In North Carolina, a firefighter was electrocuted at a fire scene. A Dallas firefighter was killed in a condo blaze. In Michigan, a firefighter's body was recovered after a strip mall fire.

We've always been impressed with the dedication of firefighters who train for every eventuality in order to be ready to meet any challenge.

Surprisingly, however, the most common cause of fatal injuries among firefighters isn't the fire itself, rather the reaction of the firefighter's own body to the stress of the situation.

According to the U.S. Fire Administration, heart attack is the most common fatal injury among firefighters, 46.9 percent; followed by trauma, 27.5 percent; asphyxiation, 8.4 percent; "other," 5.1 percent; and cerebrovascular accident (stroke), 3.9 percent.

Of the fatalities, 53 percent were volunteers and 37 percent were career firefighters. Nearly 30 percent died on the scene of the fire, 17 percent after the fire or other on-duty, 16 percent responding and 11 percent during training.

The most recent statistics show California with 38 fatalities, New York and Pennsylvania with 37 each, North Carolina with 34 and Ohio with 25.

Nebraska has not been immune, of course, with 21 firefighters listed as killed in the line of duty, including Bernie Schutte of the Palisade Volunteer Fire Department, and Francis M. Nichols of the Imperial Volunteer Fire Department.

Independence Day is a time of celebration; unfortunately it can be the busiest day of the year for firefighters, volunteer and career alike.

While McCook had no firework-related structure fires last year, there was already one reported Monday, when fireworks were suspected of having ignited an alley trash container and the adjacent garage.

Let's do our best to honor our firefighters this Fourth of July by giving them the day off from responding to fires caused by carelessness.