1. Back injuries are the leading cause of time lost from work, for both volunteer and career firefighters, often resulting in more than a month of missed duty and driving early retirements.
2. 50% of all firefighter Injury-Retirements are from back injuries according to an IAFF study.*
3. Firefighter back injuries have substantial financial and operational impacts on a fire department, including medical costs, workers’ compensation rate increases, overtime, back fill issues, crew integrity disruptions, short, staffed companies, among many others.
4. Repeated strain can cause a back injury over time, due to the dangerous and ergonomically unsound conditions firefighters routinely face. A single severe incident or repeated strain from job-related activities can cause injuries that force a firefighter into early retirement.
5. When firefighters are tired, the risk of injury spikes, such as at the end of a fire, when LDH rolls are manually carried back to the engine for reloading.
6. Rest and proper lifting techniques help, but the reality is, no amount of caution can erase the risk that comes from common practices like physically carrying multiple 100 lb LDH rolls.
7. Once back injuries set in, recovery rarely restores you fully to pre-injury strength, limiting active-duty potential and sometimes ending a firefighting career too soon.
8. 63% firefighters reported lower back pain at work, according to a 2022 study.
9. As high as 86% of career firefighters reported a lifetime prevalence of low back pain according to one review.
10. There is now a safer way to manage LDH—removing the burden of manual lifting with a simple and affordable tool called. HOZE DOLLY.

*A 1994 IAFF survey indicated that back injuries were the largest contributor to disability retirements (53.2%). Later data from the 2000 IAFF Death and Injury Survey confirmed that back injuries were the primary reason for job-related injury retirements.