Report: Firefighter deaths lowest since 1977

QUINCY, Mass. (AP) — A national fire safety group says the number of on-duty firefighter deaths last year was the lowest in more than three decades.

The National Fire Protection Association said today in a new report that 72 U.S. firefighters died on-duty in 2010. That is a sharp drop from the 105 on-duty deaths in 2008 and 82 in 2009. The group said it is the lowest annual total since it began tracking it in 1977.

James Shannon, the association’s CEO and president, says advances in training, equipment and fire codes are major factors in reducing the number of deaths.

Each year, the Quincy, Mass.-based association collects data on firefighter fatalities in the U.S. that result from on-duty injuries or illnesses.