Cultural Factors That Kill American Firefighters On The Ground: A Pilot Study

Yang Kil Jung ； Ray Hsienho Chang

《醫療救護與緊急應變》 1期 (2020/08) Pp. 37-47

https://doi.org/10.30216/JPER.202008_(1).0006

摘要

The purpose of this study is to explore how organizational culture jeopardizes the safety of firefighters at the fire ground. After extensive literature review, the researchers conducted online interviews with open-ended questions with ten senior US fire officers to determine how the following cultural issues impact firefighter safety: 1) heroism, 2) aggressive firefighting strategies, and 3) resistance to change. Findings of this research indicated that the public image of being a hero creates high expectations on firefighter performance, which in turn encourages them to pursue more aggressive actions at the fire ground. Even though many reports and research papers have identified some strategies to improve firefighter safety, resistance towards change impedes the implementation of these strategies. Although the results of this qualitative research cannot be generalized to all fire departments in the U.S., this research provides insights and systematic discussions on how cultural issues impact firefighter safety at the fire ground. Based on empirical data, practical suggestions on how to mitigate these issues are also provided at the end of this paper. This research is a first of its kind to apply organizational culture literature to explore how firefighting culture impacts firefighter safety. This research expands current discussions on firefighter safety, which has focused exclusively thus far on equipment and training, to include broader discussions on organizational culture.

關鍵字

firefighter safety ； organizational culture ； qualitative research ； organizational performance