History of the Fire Service
Whilst there has been evidence of firefighting as early as Ancient Egypt, with the invention of a water pump by Ctesibius of Alexandria, firefighting practices have (fortunately!) undergone dramatic change. In 115BC Marcus Crassus developed a Fire Service whereby firefighters would stand inactive until a price was agreed with the property owner. This was a lucrative system: either being paid to fight fires or in letting buildings burn to the ground then offering to purchase the land at a discounted rate. The next major service was named the ‘Vigiles’, formed by Emperor Nero in AD60, which acted to fulfil both police and Fire Service functions.
Firefighting became a much more structured and consistent activity following the Great Fire of London in 1666. Burning roughly 2 square miles of London, insurance companies formed Fire Services to address the need for property protection. This system continued into the early 1800s but was flawed in that buildings often burnt down before the correct insurance brigade arrived. To mitigate such issues, insurance companies often merged and more nuanced equipment such as pumps, hoses, and fire engines (or ‘sucking worm engine’ as originally patented) were developed.
Firefighting is now far more complex. One of the more significant developments is the diversification of the role demands. The Fire Service now attend a wide range of incident types, often alongside other Blue Light Services, requiring much greater strategic decision-making. For example, road traffic accidents, chemical incidents, water rescues, emergencies caused by natural disasters, and more complex fires driven by the increasing quantity and diversity of synthetic household materials. In addition to incident diversity, there are also now less incidents; the Fire Services put a much greater focus upon engaging communities with prevention interventions. Current estimates suggest only 5% of firefighter time is spent responding to incidents. Such limited opportunities to gain practical experience, and the dramatic increase in diversity of incidents attended, has placed a significant demand on the training of firefighters to ensure personnel and public safety.
In addition to the changing demands of the Service, the context in which the Fire Service is directed is also undergoing change. For example, the UK Government has been steadily cutting the Fire Service budget since 2010/2011, with implications for staffing and resources which have been commonly attributed to the 31-second increase in response time between 2010/2011 and 2015/2016. Since 2015 the UK Fire Service began partnerships with private organisations to provide a more cost-effective service. Together with the increasing demands upon firefighters, this drive for cost-efficiency looks to represent a particularly challenging environment for the future of the Fire Service.
The Fire Service now stands as an organisation like no other.
Imagine…Your organisation expects their workers to make complex decisions whilst physically and mentally tackling life-threatening and traumatic situations. Decisions at all levels within the organisation have consequences for the protection and survival of others. Your organisation is responsible for the protection of the general public and acts as the final barrier between life and death in a diverse range of extreme situations. The finances, priorities, and control of your organisation are often heavily influenced by politics; these are infrequently positive. The organisation is constantly questioned for cost-effectiveness and forced to ‘do more with less’. Actions by all members of staff are susceptible to public scrutiny.
Our Approach
Working within the Fire Service is clearly a rewarding and challenging context to call your occupational home. Individuals working at any level, whether receiving 999 calls, fighting fires, or making decisions that could have consequences on life, are all worthy of our attention and support. Occupational Psychology, which is the application of psychological knowledge to the workplace, seems like a particularly valuable field to support these important individuals.
Occupational Psychology typically includes five key themes of work: (a) psychological assessment at work, (b) learning, training, and development, (c) leadership, engagement, and motivation, (d) well-being and work, and (e) work design, organisational change, and development. As such, Occupational Psychologists can have a wide range of impacts on organisations through the diagnosis of, and subsequent development of recommendations for, occupational challenges. The issues commonly tackled include designing more effective recruitment or training policies, implementing strategies to facilitate organisational change or improve employee well-being, and tackling issues of communication and leadership.
Within the current book we examine how a range of research projects conducted in the field of Occupational Psychology have impacted our understanding and have changed the policies, procedures, and practices of those working on the ground in the Fire Service. Applying best-practice principles and modern theories, the projects discussed provide exemplar examples of the application of Occupational Psychology. We hope this will be useful for students contemplating and trainees pursuing their career in Occupational Psychology, for Occupational Psychology practitioners considering lending their support to the Fire Service, and for fire personnel wanting to adopt best practices within their work. Exploring the psychological factors involved in important individual, team, and organisational decisions, the current book hopes to support a better understanding of the psychological factors in play within the Fire Service context.
This book is broadly split into three sections. In the first we examine the role of emotion in greater depth, looking at our current understanding of its role in modern Fire Service practice, the definition and function of resilience, and the role of emotion in context of well-being during job redesign. The second section explores risk . Three perspectives are considered: those of firefighters, communities, and the general public. The final section delves further into our understanding of decision-making, looking at two perspectives on decision-making on the ground.
Whilst these three themes have been partitioned, it is worth noting that the divide between them is artificial. Given the interrelated role of these factors it is impossible to separate one from another. For example, Chapter 2 considers how emotional states impact decision-making, Chapter 6 considers whether emotions can change perceptions and actions towards risk, and Chapter 8 demonstrates the fundamental role of risk perception in the decision-making process.
Each chapter, ranging in themes from community self-efficacy to behavioural diversity, presents an exemplar piece of work which applies the principles, theories, and best practices of the field to the practices of those working within the Fire Service. In addition to providing insights derived from literature reviews or empirical research, as highlighted by the chapter overview below, each chapter explores the broader implications of the research. In each chapter we look beyond the Fire Service to identify the recommendations, opportunities, and gaps in understanding for other (international) emergency services, and other organisation and industry types.
Chapter Overview
Chapter 2 will focus on the importance of emotions within the work conducted by Fire Service personnel. Examining decision-making, risk, and coping, the role of emotions in context of the lives of those working within the Fire Service are explored through a systematic literature review. Drawing from a contemporary model of Emotional Intelligence, the intense demands placed upon Fire Service personnel are discussed alongside the benefits and risks associated with the emotions experienced and the strategies used to manage them. Key findings within the literature are synthesised and demonstrate the fundamental roles of emotion for effective coping and decision-making, and securing meaningful work and team cohesion. Whilst some consensuses emerge from the field, there is much left to do to encourage acknowledgement of the role of emotions at all levels of the Fire Service and thus recommendations for conducting Job Analyses are provided.
Chapter 3 explores the definition of adult Resilience, looking at the meaning and relevance of the term to firefighters. Following a review of historical definitions informed by developmental and clinical psychology, findings from twelve interviews analysed using Thematic Analysis are presented. It is concluded that firefighters identify and construct their ability to deal with the adverse events they experience in their work roles through coping mechanisms, self-efficacy, and reflective learning. A checklist for qualitative interview research is presented, alongside a definition of adult resilience suitable for application.
Chapter 4 considers how the changes in work conditions following the introduction of ‘Alternative Crewing Arrangements’ (ACA) crewing influenced work-related well-being and operational effectiveness within the Fire Service. A comparison of the traditional 2:2:4 crewing structure and the new ACA structure is provided with an outline to the potential risks to work-related well-being. Drawing upon a theoretical framework to understand both the outcomes and processes of workplace interventions, the findings of a body of triangulated research demonstrate the need to explore job redesign interventions from both a quantitative and qualitative perspective to understand what works for whom, how, why, and under which circumstances. An exploration of the findings with reference to the Job Demands-Resour...