Hey....
The USFA 2006 annual report on Firefighter fatalities is out. 106 Firefighters died while on duty in 2006 and of that 106, 77 were Volunteer Firefighters and 29 were Career Firefighters who died while on duty. Here is an overview and breakdown:
-There were 6 Firefighter fatality incidents where 2 or more Firefighters were killed, claiming a total of 17 firefighters' lives.
-22 firefighters were killed during activities involving brush, grass, or wildland firefighting.
-Activities related to emergency incidents resulted in the deaths of 61 Firefighters.
-36 Firefighters died while engaging in activities at the scene of a fire.
-15 Firefighters died while responding to or returning from emergency incidents.
-9 Firefighters died while they were engaged in training activities.
-20 Firefighters died after the conclusion of their onduty activity.
-Heart attacks were the most frequent cause of death for 2006, with 50 Firefighter deaths and 19 Firefighters were killed as a result of vehicle crashes.

The entire 2006 report on firefighter fatalities in the United States is available here:
www.usfa.dhs.gov/fireservice/fatalities/statistics/report.shtm
Keep in mind that the NFPA and the NFFF each have their own and different numbers based upon their own specific criteria for a variety of reasons. And...while we don't like that because it causes some confusion...and we don't think it would be that hard for all to develop one report....that's the way it is....for now.
Take Care,
BillyG