- Author
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Title
- Injuries and Illnesses Among New York City Fire Department Rescue Workers After Responding to the World Trade Center Attacks.
- Journal
- Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Vol. 51, 1-5, September 11, 2002
- Distribution
- WEBSITE: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm51spa1.htm
- Keywords
- World Trade Center | injuries | rescue | fire fighters | fire departments | health hazards | respiratory system | stress (physiology) | stress (psychology) | medical services | burns (injuries) | protective equipment | respirators | statistics
- Identifiers
- first 24 hours following the WTC attacks; traumatic injuries during the 3 months after the attacks (September 11-December 10, 2001); respiratory illness during the 11 months after the attacks (September 11, 2001-August 22, 2002); stress-related illnesses during the 11 months after the attacks (September 11, 2001-August 22, 2002); number and percentage of New York City Fire Department rescue workers who sought emergency medical care during the 24 hours after the collapse of the World Trade Center towers -- New York City, September 11, 2001
- Abstract
- Within minutes of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the Fire Department of New York City (FDNY) operated a continuous rescue/recovery effort at the World Trade Center (WTC) site. Medical officers of FDNY Bureau of Health Services (FDNY-BHS) responded to provide emergency medical services. The collapse of the WTC towers and several adjacent structures resulted in a vast, physically dangerous disaster zone. The height of the WTC towers produced extraordinary forces during their collapse, pulverizing considerable portions of the buildings' structural components and exposing first responders and civilians to substantial amounts of airborne particulate matter. Fires burned continuously under the debris until mid-December 2001. Because of ongoing fire activity and the large numbers of civilians and rescue workers who were killed during the attacks, approximately 11,000 FDNY firefighters and many emergency medical service (EMS) personnel worked on or directly adjacent to the rubble and incurred substantial exposures. This report describes morbidity and mortality in FDNY rescue workers during the 11-month period after the WTC attacks and documents a substantial increase in respiratory and stress-related illness compared with the time period before the WTC attacks. These findings demonstrate the need to provide acute and long-term medical monitoring, treatment, and counseling to FDNY rescue workers exposed to this disaster and to solve supply, compliance, and supervision problems so that respiratory protection can be rapidly provided at future disasters.