Semiconductor lasers with optical feedback present a regime in which irregular dropout events are observed ͑low-frequency fluctuations͒. This phenomenon has been interpreted in terms of a purely deterministic model. Recently, it was proposed that these lasers behave as an excitable medium and that the low frequency fluctuations are anticipated by noise. We study analytically and numerically the statistics of the firing processes predicted by this dynamical scenario and discuss how it compares with the results reported in the literature.