Policemen and firefighters must put themselves in harm’s way as part of their jobs. But less well known is that ranchers and farmers are much more likely to be fatally injured at work, according Marketwatch magazine, quoting statistics from the U.S. Labor Department.
The rate of fatalities in 2009 for ranchers and farmers was 38.5 per 100,000 full time workers, versus 4.4 for fire fighters and 13.1 for police and sheriff’s patrol officers. Statistically, professional fire fighting is only slightly more dangerous than “civilian work” where the fatality rate was 3.3 per 100,000.