Informal management of health and safety risks associated with alarm response by Australian firefighters

Abstract

Fire-fighters use informal strategies to manage risks to health and safety during operations. It is not known whether such strategies are used during the high-risk alarm response period. The aim of this study was to determine if informal risk management strategies are employed by Australian firefighters during the alarm response procedure, and if these strategies differ between salaried and retained personnel. Forty-six metropolitan firefighters (all male; mean age 38 years ± 10 years; 22 salaried; 24 retained) participated in semi-structured group interviews. A general inductive data analysis approach revealed that firefighters use multiple informal risk management strategies. Some similar themes were reported by both salaried and retained personnel, for example leveraging team dynamics, communication about sleep and fatigue, stress adaptation, informal debriefs, and enhancing physical preparedness. These findings could be used by fire services to tailor risk management approaches during the alarm response period.

Practitioner summary: Identifying informal risk management strategies firefighters use during alarm response will allow their development, refinement and dissemination, and may help other firefighters and emergency service workers to manage these risks. This qualitative study reveals multiple informal strategies that firefighters employ during alarm response to keep themselves and their team-mates safe.

Keywords:

• Risk management
• alarm response
• emergency services
• firefighter

1. Introduction

Firefighters are frequently exposed to health and safety risks in the line of duty. The consequences of this exposure have been the focus of previous research demonstrating negative changes in physical and cognitive function (e.g. Hemmatjo et al. 2017a, 2017b, 2018; Zare et al. 2018). A recent systematic review demonstrates that on-call working time arrangements, common in firefighting settings, adversely affect sleep quality and quantity (Hall et al. 2017). A subsequent economic analysis demonstrated that injuries due to sleep disturbance associated with on-call work arrangements cost approximately $2.25 billion per year ($1.71–2.73 billion; Vincent et al. 2018).

Of the many risks to which firefighters are exposed, responding to emergency alarms has received significant attention. Alarm response has been associated with sleep disturbance, fatigue, anxiety, and cardiovascular stress (Barnard and Duncan 1975; Farioli et al. 2014; Hall et al. 2017; Kales et al. 2009; Karlsson, Niemelä, and Jonsson 2011; Kuorinka and Korhonen 1981; Paterson, Aisbett, and Ferguson 2016; Smith et al. 2019). The alarm response procedure typically involves the sounding of an auditory alarm, alerting personnel of an emergency event to which they are required to respond. Alarms can occur at any time of day or night, and personnel may be engaging in work or non-work duties at the time of the alarm. The type of alarm can also vary across firefighting cohorts. Salaried firefighters respond to loud, siren-like alarms in-station, whilst retained and volunteer firefighters can rely on pager alerts (for a full description of the alarm response procedure for firefighters see Paterson, Aisbett, and Ferguson 2016). Other professions, for example police and ambulance officers, are also required to respond to emergency alarms delivered in-station or via pager (Karlsson, Niemelä, and Jonsson 2011). While there has been exploration of the risks for incident or injury during alarm response (Barnard and Duncan 1975; Kales et al. 2009; Karlsson, Niemelä, and Jonsson 2011; Kuorinka and Korhonen 1981; Paterson, Aisbett, and Ferguson 2016), there has been limited focus on ways to mitigate these risks.

Given heart rate is elevated during alarm response, Karlsson and colleagues (2011) suggest that one way to manage the stress of alarm response is to reduce the number of alarms personnel are exposed to per shift. However, this may be operationally difficult given the inherently unpredictable nature of alarms. Further, such a strategy does not mitigate the risks present when an alarm does occur. Recent evidence shows that Australian firefighters and emergency service workers develop their own, informal health and safety strategies to manage unavoidable risks (Dawson et al. 2015; Jay et al. 2018). In one study, a sample of 30 Australian volunteer firefighters identified informal strategies to manage risks associated with shift-work related sleep loss and fatigue, including cross-checking decisions, increasing task engagement, and napping (Dawson et al. 2015). Similarly, a sample of 24 Australian women working in the emergency services reported informal risk management strategies to manage on-call work including preparing gear in advance of a potential alarm response, and strategies to sleep after a call-out including informal debriefing and showers (Jay et al. 2018).

Informal risk management strategies are typically adaptive, task-relevant, and easily implemented in the workplace, helping to minimise the chance that an accident or error occurs despite conditions of increased risk (Dawson, Chapman, and Thomas 2012). Dawson, Chapman, and Thomas (2012) discuss the importance of these strategies for industries where a level of risk is unavoidable because of circumstances beyond the organisation’s control or because the service is essential. Indeed, firefighting has been described as ‘an occupation that may be incapable of being made safe’ (Barnes 2000, 59). Whether informal strategies are employed to manage the high-risk alarm response procedure in firefighting is unknown. Given that the creation and transfer of tacit information has been associated with reduced occupational injury and disease more broadly, investigating informal strategies employed by firefighters may lead to improvements in health and safety outcomes for this group (Podgórski 2010). In addition, our recent findings demonstrate significant differences in the risks associated with alarm response depending on whether an individual is classified as a ‘salaried’ or ‘retained’ firefighter (a brief description included in the Methods section below, for a more detailed description of each workgroup see Paterson, Aisbett, and Ferguson 2016). As such, risk management strategies are also likely to differ between groups.

The present study sought to identify informal risk management strategies used by Australian firefighters during the alarm response procedure, identifying similarities and differences between salaried and retained cohorts. Identifying these strategies will allow their development, refinement and wider dissemination. This may help other firefighters and emergency service workers to manage the risks associated with alarm response.

2. Materials and methods

Data presented in this paper were collected as part of a broader research project conducted by the authors. Other data from this project have been published in a previous manuscript, which includes a detailed description of the sample characteristics, procedures and approach to statistical analysis. For this information please see Paterson, Aisbett, and Ferguson (2016).

2.1. Participants

Forty-six metropolitan firefighters from two Australian states participated in semi-structured group interviews. Twenty-two were full-time, salaried firefighters (mean age 38 years ± 10 years; mean years of experience 9 years ± 8years), and twenty-four were retained firefighters (mean age 33 years ± 8years; mean years of experience 7 years ± 7 years). All participants were male.

Salaried firefighters in the present study were paid a salary and typically worked a four days on, four days off roster. This involves two day shifts of 10 h (0800–1800) and two night shifts of 14 h (1800–0800), followed by four days off beginning at 0800 after the second night shift. During night shifts salaried staff are able to recline between 2200 and 0600 unless called upon to respond to an alarm. Alarms are usually received in the stations as an auditory alarm of ascending volume, including a voice stating the type of incident and which appliance is responding. Salaried firefighters may be reclining, engaging in leisure activities or doing other non-emergency work when the alarm sounds. Once the alarm has sounded, firefighters dress, gather relevant personal protective equipment (including boots, overalls, jackets, helmet) and other relevant equipment, and leave the station. Firefighters are given 90 s between receiving an alarm and leaving the station.

Retained firefighters in the present study were paid a retainer fee and an hourly rate for time spent responding to incidents. Of the retained firefighters, 18 were also employed in a full- or part-time capacity outside of their work for the fire service. Typical occupations were in the areas of manual labour, trades and retail. Retained firefighters receive an alarm via pager. Personnel must confirm within four minutes whether they are able to respond and must arrive at the station within 10 min. As such, retained staff are required to be within a 10-minute drive of their station whilst ‘on-call’.

2.2. Procedure

Ethical clearance for this study was granted by CQUniversity’s Human Research Ethics Committee (Approval number 18996). Seven group interviews were conducted; four with salaried firefighters, and three with retained firefighters. At the commencement of each interview, participants were provided with a study information sheet and informed consent was obtained. Interviews went for 45–90 min and were audio recorded. A series of questions related to the alarm response procedure, as well as any associated health and safety risks, was used to guide discussions in a semi-structured way. The present study is based on responses to the question: Are there any informal workplace practices that personnel use to manage the risk associated with alarm response?

2.3. Analysis

Interview transcripts were analysed using an inductive data analysis approach (for a full description of the method employed see Green et al. 2007). This involved data immersion, coding, categorisation and theme generation. Initially, transcribed focus groups were interrogated and all responses relating to procedures and risks were coded as such. These data were then re-examined and sorted into thematic codes based on commonalities. Finally, thematic codes were examined to determine relationships between categories. These analysis methods have been used in previous research of a similar nature (Dawson et al. 2015), and in our previous publication describing alarm response procedures in firefighting personnel (Paterson, Aisbett, and Ferguson 2016). A discussion of the assumptions of this common approach can be found in Thomas (2006).

3. Results

Qualitative analysis revealed a number of informal risk management strategies that firefighters use during alarm response. Some of these strategies were reported primarily by salaried personnel (Section 3.1), or retained personnel (Section 3.2). It is important to note, however, that although delineations have been made between salaried and retained personnel, there was some cross-over between themes. These have been noted where they occurred. Salaried personnel reported strategies primarily related to the themes of mental preparedness, and local knowledge. Retained personnel described strategies primarily related to the acceptance of stress exposure and managing work-life balance. Both salaried and retained firefighters described strategies related to the themes of team dynamics, sleep and fatigue, stress adaptation, and informal debrief. Each theme is described below, using excerpts from interview transcripts to illustrate. Quotes shown below were drawn from all group interviews, and so do not represent any single interviewee’s comments.

3.1 Salaried personnel

3.1.1. Mental preparedness

Salaried firefighters discussed informal strategies to mentally prepare upon receiving the alarm itself. A salaried firefighter gave one example of this, ‘I know mentally I say to myself, ‘right, try and switch on, time to go’, and I probably say it verbally in the truck as well’. Firefighters also discussed mental checklists that they run through to ensure they are prepared. As one salaried firefighter said, ‘you’ve got this list in your head that you’re going through and then you’ve got another ‘list’ in your head that you’re going to be talking to communications about’. Salaried firefighters discussed the different ways they use formal procedures depending on the incident. For example, ‘if we got an alarm call right now, everyone goes through the motions and we know what we do. If we got a call to a house fire, we’d be going through the motions but we’d be confirming everything’s been done’. Firefighters also discussed mentally preparing themselves for more serious incidents, such as those involving threat to life or property, for example ‘you’re trying to mentally prepare yourself for the incident as well as your duties and responsibilities’. Salaried firefighters also discussed how in cases where there were fewer senior crew responding to an alarm, other crew members were required to ‘step up’. Mental preparation for this reportedly occurred en route to the incident where crew would check with each other that various tasks had been completed. Firefighters also discussed how the dynamic nature of alarm response necessitated constant re-evaluation in order to be prepared. As well as driving and navigating to the incident, firefighters discussed preparing for different scenarios upon arrival. The order in which different appliances and crew arrived was one variable discussed. For example, ‘if it’s a major fire we’re thinking about where are we going to synchronise, where do we pull up, where are the other trucks, what’s our best way in/best way out? It’s the simple things, the little things at the start so that you can get into the big things later down the track’.

3.1.2. Local knowledge

Salaried firefighters discussed the local geographical knowledge that they acquire and use during alarm response. This was discussed particularly in relation to choosing the appropriate route to an incident. Local school start and finish times were discussed, as were special events in the community that may increase the number of people around. As one salaried firefighter said, ‘we know local knowledge and timing … you know that Fun Day is on a Sunday and the guys get a call and the best place to go is not past the park, so that can chop and change as well.’ Salaried firefighters discussed a learnt knowledge of back routes that could be taken to avoid peak-hour traffic, for example ‘it’s the little things, the short cuts here and there…and then there’s people saying you don’t go there in peak hour you get gridlock…there’s a back street this way that will take you straight into the city’.

3.2 Retained personnel

3.2.1. Acceptance of stress exposure

Retained firefighters described an informal process of trying to limit or control exposure to stressors related to alarm response. In relation to being able to choose whether or not to respond to an alarm, one retained firefighter explained that it can be preferable to ‘withdraw and be functioning within a week…rather than push yourself through something you’re uncomfortable with and maybe suffer long-term effects’. More common though were reports of accepting the exposure to stress and trauma experienced as part alarm response, as one retained firefighter said, ‘we’ve been called to incidents and you recognise the car…but at the end of the day you’ve got a job to do and you just do it’. Retained firefighters reported being prepared for exposure to stress and trauma when joining the service, for example ‘you’ll be briefed before you join, just saying this is what we expect of you and this is what you could come across and it’s up to you to make up your mind whether you actually can tolerate it or not’.

3.2.2. Managing work-life balance

Work-life balance was identified as a significant risk to well-being associated with responding to an alarm, particularly for retained firefighters. Retained firefighters, as distinct to salaried firefighters, can often choose whether or not they respond to an alarm. One way of managing risk to work-life balance cited by retained firefighters was choosing not to respond in situations where the alarm was not for an urgent incident and they had family commitments. As one retained firefighter said, ‘it’s pretty hard to leave the kids at sport and turn around and say ‘can you look after my kids while I go to a fire call-out?…you don’t know if it’s going to be a 20-minute job or a 2-h job’. Informally ‘weighing-up’ the risks associated with an alarm was also described by retained firefighters in relation to managing their primary employment. Retained firefighters discussed the difficulty in choosing between responding to a call and fulfilling their responsibilities to their employer, or themselves in cases of those self-employed. As one self-employed firefighter explained, ‘you can’t exactly say ‘Sorry, I’m not coming today because I’ve been up all night with fire callout’… that’s your business and you’ve got to look after your business the best you can and not let anyone down’.

3.3. Salaried and retained personnel

3.3.1. Team dynamics

Both salaried and retained firefighters used interpersonal knowledge of other team members as a learned, informal way of managing the risks associated with working with multiple individuals during an alarm response. This was typically in reference to the time between receiving an alarm, and turning out the appliance. For example, one salaried firefighter explained that ‘you know what you’re capable of doing, depending who you’ve got on the truck’. Another salaried firefighter gave the example of a team member using informal communication to manage risks associated with fatigued driving, ‘there was a bloke, he would not ‘wake up’ for half an hour so he would tell the boys, they would have to drive his shift’. In the case of retained firefighters, the appliance will leave to respond once a full crew has arrived at the depot. As such, retained firefighters have less certainty in the lead up to an alarm regarding the other individuals with whom they will respond. However, similar to salaried firefighters, retained firefighters discussed a process of assessing the other individuals on the appliance en route to the job. As one retained firefighter described, ‘having a sense of who you’re going on the truck with also determines how you might respond to different jobs’.

3.3.2. Sleep and fatigue

Firefighters reported relying on each other when they feel sleepy or fatigued during an alarm response. As one salaried firefighter said of his brigade, ‘it takes me two minutes to click and wake up and then get my head around what’s happening whereas these guys don’t have that, but there’s four of them so they’re happy to pull the pieces together’. Retained firefighters discussed the informal management of their own fatigue when balancing their fire service duties and primary employment. This was an area of conflict for retained firefighters as ‘not many can actually ring up the boss and say ‘look, I’m supposed to start at 9am, but I’m fatigued so I’m starting at 1pm’, and keep your job’. There were reports of taking opportunities to nap in order to catch up on lost sleep. As one retained firefighter said, ‘If I’ve had a big night of calls when I go to work the next day, because I’m on the road a bit, I’ll sleep for 10-15 minutes and keep going.’

3.3.3. Stress adaptation

Firefighters described a process by which they become accustomed to the stressors associated with alarm response. This was particularly true for salaried firefighters who described how they ‘task-orientate’ to manage stress and risk during alarm response. As one salaried firefighter explained, ‘people think firies look like they’re going with guns blazing, whereas we don’t do that. I think our procedures are a little bit more fool proof than that and every situation there’s a set criteria of what we do’. Salaried firefighters also discussed the pointlessness of becoming ‘flustered’, as one said ‘you want your head to be in the right space and so you stay calm and just do it.’ This was reportedly a skill primarily learnt on the job. There was a general consensus with retained firefighters that responding to an alarm and dealing with the stressors encountered is easier when individuals are ‘not as wound-up’. Being wound-up was best described by a retained firefighter as, ‘you become tunnel-visioned, I think you let the adrenaline take over and the ‘red light fever’, as we call it’.

3.3.4. Informal debriefs

Informal debriefs emerged as an important risk management technique, particularly in relation to stress. As one salaried firefighter said, ‘You’ll have what we call a hot debrief. Whatever happens you should have one there and then’. These informal debriefs were described as a way of monitoring the mental wellbeing of other firefighters after an incident. As one retained firefighter explained, ‘I find most of that stuff happens on the trip back here, just have a bit of a chat and whatever else…you just keep an eye on everyone and see any change or difference in behaviour then you sort of, depending on how well you get along with that person, you might bring it up or you might talk to the peer support or whatever.’ There was an apparent preference for speaking to other firefighters, rather than to partners or friends outside the service. As one retained firefighter said, ‘I’ve always found it easier to talk to the guys that I’ve been through the experience with’, another commented that, ‘there’s no point in going home to your family and talking about it, because they really don’t know the consequences and the position we’re in’. The importance of these debriefs was emphasised by retained personnel because of the reportedly increased rate of treating personally known patients. One retained firefighter said that ‘it would be a pretty high percentage sitting around the table here that we go to a prang [a car accident], there’d be someone that knows that person or knows of that person or is a friend of the family.’

3.3.5. Physical preparedness

Taking care of basic needs was raised as a way of mitigating risk during alarm response. Salaried firefighters discussed the importance of hydration and of using the bathroom prior to responding to an alarm, for example ‘you constantly make sure you go to the toilet because the last thing you want to do is get on an appliance and go to a job where you’re stuck for an hour and a half.’ This physical preparedness was also discussed in relation to eating meals, for example ‘we’ll always take a bit of food with us or work out when we’re going to eat’. The changing nature of the working day was cited as a reason for this, for example ‘you don’t want to leave it to the afternoon because then everything can change so you miss out.’ Retained firefighters also discussed how the unpredictable nature of alarms necessitated consideration of basic needs like using the bathroom, being hydrated, and having regular meals available. As one retained firefighter said, ‘we don’t always get that luxury though, especially food-wise, you keep going and going and going.’ Salaried firefighters also discussed being physically prepared to respond to an alarm during a reclining period. Some participants reported sleeping in various elements of their uniform, such as undershirts and socks to increase preparedness for an alarm. It was also reported that ‘some guys have their over-pants rolled around their boots so pull it on all in one go, others can’t do that. Everyone’s got their own routine.’ This was described as a largely individual and learned procedure, ‘nobody tells you how to get from your dorm to the truck. You just do it however you get from your front door to your car at home, I suppose. You’ve never been told how to do it, you just do it.’

4. Discussion

Both salaried and retained firefighters described using informal risk management strategies during alarm response. In most cases similar strategies were reported by both workgroups, for example strategies relating to team dynamics, sleep and fatigue, stress adaptation, informal debriefs, and physical preparedness. However, there were also strategies that were reported primarily by salaried personnel, such as mental preparedness and local knowledge, or primarily by retained personnel including acceptance of stress exposure and managing work-life balance. It is not surprising that there were unique strategies reported by salaried and retained personnel, given the unique risks encountered by each workgroup (Paterson, Aisbett, and Ferguson 2016).

Salaried firefighters discussed mentally and physically preparing to respond when hearing the alarm. In the case of mental preparedness, this was related to ‘switching on’ for a response. Participants reported running through checklists in their mind, and out loud with their team-mates. It was reported that attending to these details when the alarm sounds is necessary to ensure focus is on the actual response when arriving at the incident. This is in line with schema theory which stipulates individuals construct conceptual frameworks for different situations which subsequently guide the way they understand and respond to events (Paton 1994). The potential role of mental schemas as a way of enhancing preparedness during alarm response should be explored in future research. Indeed, Dawson and colleagues (2012) recommend that informal risk management strategies be evaluated, standardised and documented, so they are a part of a formal safety management system. Risk management strategies identified in this firefighter population may also apply in the context of any occupation that involves exposure to emergency alarms, for example police or ambulance officers.

Physical preparedness strategies were similar to mental strategies in that participants reported employing these to ensure their ability to give full attention to the incident when necessary. Examples included being well-hydrated, fed, and having used the bathroom. Participants also reported developing their own strategies for how to dress when reclining to ensure a quick and safe response should an alarm occur. This suggests that firefighters proceduralise aspects of the alarm response process that do not already have an imposed procedure. Informal proceduralisation may minimise the opportunity for an accident or error to occur. Encouraging personnel to consider strategies for the ‘unproceduralised’ aspects of their work may be an effective way to enhance safety during alarm response. Indeed, proceduralisation is a common method for managing risk in the workplace (Bieder and Bourrier 2013). The present findings also suggest that allowing personnel to develop and guide WHS practice is likely to result in the most practical and effective approaches. This participatory approach may also avoid issues relating to the unhelpful over-proceduralisation of WHS that can occur when those writing the procedures are not closely involved in the work (Lingard et al. 2015).

Retained firefighters discussed using nap opportunities to manage fatigue associated with alarm response, in line with research showing that naps are an effective way to manage fatigue associated with sleep loss (Brooks and Lack 2006). Retained firefighters also discussed informal strategies for managing work-life balance and stress. Retained firefighters may choose not to respond to an alarm (Jay et al. 2018), and this was reported as a strategy for managing stress. However, it was more common that personnel reported accepting the high levels of stress associated with their role. Retained personnel were more likely to choose not to respond to an alarm if it was not an urgent incident, and when there were pre-existing commitments to family or primary employment. The informal process through which retained staff weigh up this decision was an example of how personnel manage the risk to work-life balance associated with alarm response. Previous research with firefighting populations has revealed work-life balance as a source of conflict and a potential deterrent to working for the fire service (Cowlishaw, McLennan, and Evans 2008). Cowlishaw and colleagues (2008) suggest including information for volunteers encouraging them to prioritise family ahead of fire service responsibilities, and information for families about work-life balance conflict.

Consistent with Barnes (2000) report, informal debriefs were reported as a way of managing risks particularly associated with stress from alarm response, for both retained and salaried personnel. These debriefs were reportedly helpful because they were with crewmates who had been through the same experiences. The informal nature of these debriefs may be the key to their efficacy. Indeed, previous research has shown that firefighters rate informal debriefs as more useful for dealing with stress than formal debriefs (Moran and Colless 1995). Facilitating opportunities for interpersonal trust to develop between personnel may be an important consideration for firefighting agencies in terms of managing the stress associated with alarm response. A sense of team membership and camaraderie was also evident in firefighters’ use of interpersonal knowledge to manage risks associated with working with multiple individuals during alarm response. This was the case for both salaried and retained firefighters and is consistent with previous research showing camaraderie as having a ‘protective’ effect against poor mental health in firefighting personnel (Tuckey and Hayward 2011).

In line with the influence of camaraderie, team dynamics were cited as an informal way that risk was managed during alarm response. This included knowing the strengths and weaknesses of other personnel, and is consistent with research showing team familiarity improves effectiveness during emergency response (Hayes 2014; McLennan et al. 2006). The way that team dynamics influence the performance of work groups has also been the focus of research in the aviation industry. In this case, distributed leadership, which refers to the way that formal and informal leaders perform leadership functions, has been associated with improved crew performance under emergency conditions. Further, informal leadership – defined as individuals who display leadership, rather than occupy assigned leadership roles - was a greater predictor of performance than formal leadership (Bienefeld & Grote, 2011). Informal leadership may be a useful skill for firefighting personnel during alarm response, particularly given that the findings of the present study indicate informal management of team dynamics already occurs in this workgroup.

The unique themes reported by retained firefighters, including stress exposure and work-life balance, are intuitively related to the impact of alarm response upon the individual’s psychosocial wellbeing. In contrast, the themes reported by salaried firefighters, mental preparedness and local knowledge, are more aligned with the impact of the firefighter on the alarm response procedure. This could represent the different perspectives of retained and salaried personnel regarding their role within the fire service. Salaried personnel are typically employed full-time by the fire service and do not have secondary employment. In addition, their work schedules are known in advance. This may result in a greater sense of control over their working environment, allowing the firefighter to develop strategies that enhance their ability to effectively respond to an alarm. Conversely, while retained firefighters are paid an hourly rate for time spent on alarm response, a significant proportion of their time is not financially compensated beyond the receipt of a small retainer fee. This is the time during which the retained firefighter is required to be operationally ready to respond, and for many retained firefighters this is at all times. As such, retained firefighters have less control over their experience of the alarm response procedure, and may feel a greater need to safeguard their wellbeing.

The majority of retained firefighters in our study had additional full-time or part-time employment outside of the fire service. Previous research has addressed the complex psychosocial profile of firefighters who perform such ‘double duties’, and acknowledged the various tensions resulting from this ‘obligation and ambiguity’ (Yarnal and Dowler 2002). As such, retained firefighters may have developed strategies to deal with how the complexities of their role influence their wellbeing outside the fire service, as well as during alarm response. Despite the significant number of non-salaried firefighters in Australia and the United Kingdom (approximately 20,000 in Australia alone; Fire and Rescue NSW 2013; Queensland Fire and Emergency Services 2014; South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service 2012; UK Fire Service Resources Group 2014), retained firefighters remain an understudied group. Future research should address the unique psychosocial hazards experienced by this population.

4.1. Limitations

The present study was based on the subjective reports of Australian firefighters, and there are some limitations associated with the use of qualitative data collection and analysis. These include limitations in the generalisability of findings, differences in interpretation of interview questions, and inability to obtain systematic agreement or disagreement between participants. Given that there is limited existing research addressing this topic, qualitative methods were employed as this approach is most appropriate for exploratory research (Nordlöf et al. 2015).

Participants were asked to report informal practices that they use to manage risk during alarm response. However, there may be strategies employed of which individuals are not consciously aware. The observation and recording of alarm response procedures in situ may be one way to identify such strategies. This method, however, may result in changes to behaviour as a result of being observed (Alvero and Austin 2004). It is also worth noting that while certain themes emerged primarily in one of two workgroups, this does not mean that these issues are not relevant for both workgroups.

Finally, we did not recruit any female personnel for this study. There are well known and ongoing challenges with recruitment and retention of female firefighters, particularly in volunteer roles, but also throughout the sector (McLennan et al., 2007). Recent work from our group shows that female personnel manage specific challenges in balancing an on-call role (Jay et al. 2018), and thus understanding the alarm response period will be equally important.

5. Conclusions

The present study has provided an overview of informal risk management strategies used by salaried and retained metropolitan firefighters during alarm response. This study is the first to consider informal risk management strategies for firefighters during alarm response, and to include both salaried and retained personnel. Informal strategies were common, though there were predictable differences between cohorts in the nature of the strategies reported. The efficacy of these strategies for reducing injuries and accidents in the workplace remains unknown. Extracting these strategies for evaluation and formal training represents an opportunity for agencies and researchers, alike. Indeed, these strategies may provide a useful reference point for any workplace looking for practical ways to mitigate risks associated with the alarm response period. Ensuring that formalisation does not erode a strategy’s ‘effectiveness’ must also be a priority when developing best practice health and safety for firefighters during the high-risk alarm response period.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).