THE FIREMAN AS A LIFE RISK.
OUT of twenty-six companies, which replied to Mr. William T. Standen, the actuary of the United States Life Insurance Company, eight companies positively and emphatically reject fire department employes; eleven companies accept such applicants under lestrictions; and seven companies accept applicants without restrictions and for the plan applied for. It is rather surprising to meet with such a large degree of difference in the action of life companies upon the application for insurance on the part of a class of persons employed at an occupation, the effect of which on mortality should be fairly well known; and on the assumption that some recent statistics on the subject maybe of interest, the following data are submitted as a contribution towards a more comprehensive study of the effects of this occupation on health and mortality.
Paid fire departments are now maintained in all the large cities of this country,and the number of men so employed is constantly on the increase, forming a large body of men employed at a more than common rate of wages and employed under conditions most likely to lead to the consideration of life insurance as the “ ideal protection.” As has been stated, however, such applicants would be emphatically rejected by eight, out of twenty-six, and accepted under restrictions by eleven companies. This difficulty of obtaining insurance on favorable terms has in most cities led to the formation of a firemen’s relief and insurance fund.which fund is usually assisted by the municipality to a very large proportion of the annual disbursements. The query is natural as to what is the actual mortality of these men and what is the actual excess of their mortality from accidents incident to their occupation. A reply of a limited character will be furnished by the following tables, which have been compiled from official reports of four leading municipalities for periods of from six to nine years each and with an aggregate number of 20.410 lives exposed to risk of death one year.
Mortality of fire department employes in New York, Chicago, Brooklyn and St. Louis.
According to the above table the deaths amongst the uniformed force of four cities during the period 1887-95 numbered 228, representing an annual mortality of it.2 per 1,000. The rate has varied from 7.9 per 1.000 during 1889 to 20.6 per 1,000 during 1887, or, if only the last six years are taken into consideration, as representing a much larger and more uniform number of exposures the death rate fluctuated between 10.3 in 1892 and 12.3 in 1894. IIow far this mortality was the result of normal conditions and how far it was the result of accidental deaths of firemen while on duty is shown in the next table which presents the returns for each city and the four cities in the aggegate.
Mortality of fire department employes in four cities from all causes and from accidents while on duty.
According to this table the mortality from all causes was largest in the city of New York and lowest in the city of Chicago, while the mortality from accidents while on duty was largest in Chicago and lowest in Brooklyn. The average mortality from accidents while on duty was 2.2 per 1,000 or 18.9 per cent, of deaths from all causes. It appears from this summary that a high general death rate is not necessarily the result of a high mortality from accidents and,vice versa, a low general death rate may prevail, while at the same time accidents on duty may have been excessively frequent.
If these results are compared with the mortality rates for other occupations,it appears from the limited comparison below that the employes of fire departments are subject to about the same death rate as the employes of certain railroad systems,but materially below the mortality of men on the New York police force and seamen in the British merchant marine. It is highly probable that the average age of firemen is about the same as that of policemen; yet it is shown that, while New York policemen are subject to a mortality of 14.4 per 1,000, New York city firemen were subject to a rate of only 13.6.
1ortal~ty from all causes in various occupations.
If a similar comparison is made in regard to the mortality from accidents while on duty,it will be observed from the table below that firemen compare favorably with men employed in mining, while men employed as train or yardmen on American railways are subject to a rate of fatal accidents three and four times as great.*
Mortality from accidents in various occupations.
From this table it would, therefore, appear that men employed in the lire departments of our large cities are subject to a rather favorable mortality in comparison with men employed at various other occupations, sufficiently hazardous to permit comparison;whereas,the mortality from fatal accidents while on duty is about the sameasthat of miners,but far less than that of men employed in the railway train or yard service. How far this mortality compares with the general mortality cannot be definitely stated,since the ages of the living and dying arc not given iu sufficient detail in the reports at my command. From a study of the available data for a number of our cities, however. I have calculated that the average age of the living is about thirty-six to thirty-seven years. Now the average age of men aged twenty to fifty-four would be about thirty-seven years, and the normal death rate of males at this age group,according to the last Knglish life table would be 10.5 per 1,000 or 0.7 per 1,000 less than the average mortality of American firemen. The normal mortality of these men, therefore, exceeds by 6.67 per cent, the normal mortality of English males twenty to fifty-four years age. A similar comparison witn American males cannot well be made, since the census returns of the population by ages have not as yet been made public in such a manner that the same can be utilized for this purpose; but at ages fifteen to sixty-four the average mortality rate of twentyeight large cities in 1890 was 15.0 per 1,000. Hence it is apparent that the average death rate of firemen is, to say the most, not more than seven per cent, in excess ol the normal mortality of men in general.
(To be continued.’)
The lamp which caused the recent fire at the Bazar de la Charite in Haris was what is called the oxyetheric light, used when gas is not available. In it vapor of ether replaces the hydrogen in the oxyhydrogen limelight. Unless care is taken the reservoir containing the vapor of ether can be surcharged, and on opening the stopcock and applying a match to light up, a flame a yard long may be produced. It was probably in this way that the calamitous fire began. It any case users of this light should take every precaution against having an excess of ether in the reservoir.
August 3, 4, 5 have been set as the date for the tournament of the upper Peninsula firemen of Michigan to be held at Iron wood, Mich.
The new fire bell of Minonk, III., weighs 1,600 pounds. It is four times as heavy as the old one.
Astoria, Ore., has fixed as follows the salaries of its paid fire department; Chief, $70.60; drivers,54.35; foremen, $8.70; extra men,$8.70.
Grand View, Ind., has had its business portion burned. Loss, $20,000; insurance, three-fourths. No fire protection.
•supplement to the 55th annual report of the Reg. General Vol. 1, London, 1895.
