NFPA estimates that 69,400 firefighter injuries occurred in the line of duty in 2012, a decrease of 1 percent from the year before and the lowest it’s been since NFPA analyses began in 1981. NFPA also estimates that there were 8,150 exposures to infectious diseases last year, amounting to 0.3 exposures per 1,000 emergency medical runs by fire departments. In addition, there were 19,200 exposures to hazardous conditions, such as asbestos and chemicals, in 2012, or 18.2 exposures per 1,000 hazardous condition runs. An estimated 20.6 percent of all these injuries resulted in time out of work. For more information on firefighter injuries, read Michael Karter and Joseph Molis' article, "U.S. Firefighter Inuries of 2012," in the November/December issue of NFPA Journal.