LEAD
Almost fifty per cent of firefighter fatalities in the United States are a result of heart attacks, far surpassing the next leading causes.
EXCEL WORKBOOK AND EXPLANATION
The workbook contains the raw data set of firefighter fatalities in the United States for the years 2000 to 2015. It also contains a small slice of the data which shows the count and percentages for the nature of each firefighter fatality.
ORIGINAL DATASET LINK
The original dataset comes was found on Kaggle.com and shows information released by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
NEWS STORY AND SUMMARY
The article "Why do Firefighters have an Increased Risk of Heart Attack," by Tim Newman for Medical News Today, is extremely important as it discusses the the factors contributing to cardiovascular problems in firefighters. The article discusses an investigation performed in Scotland which concluded that "the risk of blood clotting increased in response to physical exertion and extreme temperature" (Newman, 2017). The article ends by saying that active rehydration and maintaining a strong fitness level, on top of scanning to detect potential cardiovascular risks, could save more firefighters' lives.
I am slightly surprised that the number one cause of death for fire fighters is heart attacks instead of smoke inhalation/suffocation. However, the article did a thorough job of explaining and supporting the reasoning behind this statistic. It was fascinating to learn about the relationship between intense heat and the cardiovascular issues it can cause.
ReplyDeleteI was really surprised to see that suffocating as cause of death was only 7% and that leading cause of death was heart attacks. The article by Tim Newman did a great job of explaining what factors cause these heart attacks and active ways to prevent it. Great Job Marcus :)
ReplyDeleteHi Marcus. I found the results of your data very interesting. I think this story opens up to a larger conversation which is important, in my opinion. The shocking stat (50 per cent!) provides a really good hook for your lead. I think that it also allows your story to dig into why this is the reality. I'm curious to see that end product!
ReplyDeleteWow, fifty percent? That's pretty high, far more than I thought. Anyway, this was an interesting dataset and the article definitely provided more detail for it. It'll be interesting to see the end result of this.
ReplyDeleteIts interesting that the leading cause of death among fire fighters are heart attacks especially with all the other risks that come with the job. Your article does a good job of showing why heart attacks are the leading cause of deaths for fire fighters as well.
ReplyDeleteMarcus: I'm intrigued by your data - which is important - and I'm glad your lead sentence is so concise and easy to understand. I think your summary is effective and concise as well. You're doing great!
ReplyDeleteBeing a firefighter would be really stressful, along with the adrenaline going through your body when going to a scene or into the fire itself. It is nice to see you found a solution as to solving the problem many firefighters face on the job. I wonder if your data will uncover any more useful tidbits of information.
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