What is the number one cause of death among those who fight fires for a living?

Fighting fires is hard work. With exposure to extreme heat, excessive inhalation of smoke, long hours of exhausting work and a high risk factor for being hurt badly, or even worse, you would think that the number one cause of death for an active firefighter would, of course, be death by fire. In reality, the primary cause of death is having a heart attack. Reasons why the risk factor is so much higher for a firefighter include extreme heat which can cause heavy sweating and rapid dehydration, stress on the heart from low oxygen caused by smoke inhalation, and sustained high levels of adrenaline. Firefighters are 12 times more likely to die of a heart attack when on duty.

Asked by Leni Davenport · Last updated 5 years ago · 14.3K views · SOURCE