What is a Line of Duty Death?

A Line of Duty Death is considered to have occured when:

1. An EMS provider dies while performing his/her duties or;
2. An EMS provider suffers a heart attack or stroke while on duty or not later than 24 hours after participating in a physical training exercise, such as vehicle rescue training, farm rescue training, etc., or;
3. An EMS provider, while responding to an emergency, is presumed to have dies as a result of the performance of his/her duties.

If a Line of Duty Death occurs in my ambulance service, what should I do?

1. Notify the County Emergency Management Agency of the fatality, which will notify the Director of the Bureau of EMS. The Director will notify the appropriate resources, so that a LIne of Duty Death support person can contact you to assist with details.
2. Advise the coroner of the Line of Duty Death as a proper autopsy is beneficial in securing Line of Duty Death Benefits. The autopsy should follow the Firefighter Autopsy protocol (below), developed by the Federeal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Fire Administration.
3. Appoint a Public Information Officer for your service.
4. Support the deceased's family with any immediate needs.
5. Secure the training records of the deceased.
6. Notify the municipality of the death, not the municipality of where the LODD occurred plus the municipality of the service.
7. If the death occured while the EMS provider was on duty, have all EMS personnel involved make a written statement as to what happened (only facts).
8. Consider CISM resources for your personnel.

LODD Resources:
LODD Flyer (above information for handing out to others)
Line of Duty Death Guidelines
Firefighter Autopsy Protocol
List of Fallen Providers
Fallen Provider Biographies
PA Death Benefits
Federal Death Benefits

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