FACTORS RELATED TO PREPAREDNESS FOR FIRE SUPPRESSION AMONG FIREFIGHTERS: A CASE STUDY OF ONE DISASTER PREVENTION AND MITIGATION OFFICE IN UBON RATCHATANI PROVINCE
Keywords:
Fire Safety Preparedness, Risk Area Identification, FirefighterAbstract
Fire prevention preparedness is the responsibility of all sectors of society and plays a crucial role in reducing the loss of life and property. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between personal demographic factors and fire prevention preparedness, which consisted of 32 firefighting personnel. The data were collected using questionnaires, data analyzed using descriptive statistics, and relationships were examined using Pearson's Chi-square and Fisher's Exact Test at a 95% confidence level. The results revealed that all firefighters were male (100%), with an average age of 38 years. The majority held a secondary school or vocational certificate (53.20 percents) and reported no underlying health conditions (87.50%). More than half were single (56.30%) and had an average work experience of 9 years. The fire prevention preparedness of firefighting personnel, categorized by overall aspect, is as follows: 1) the preparedness in terms of equipment and tools was at a high level (x̄ = 4.58), 2) the operational system organization for fire prevention was at a high level (x̄ = 4.53), 3) fire prevention training was at a high level (x̄ = 4.53) and 4) fire risk area inspection was at a high level (x̄ = 4.64). The study on the relationship between personal demographic factors and fire prevention preparedness of firefighting personnel showed no statistically significant relationship. It was also found that the most significant problems and obstacles to fire prevention preparedness were related to fire risk area inspections (46.87%), followed by personnel, equipment, and tools preparation (25.00%), operational system organization for fire prevention (15.63%), and firefighter training (12.50%), respectively. Therefore, it is recommended to review policies on fire risk area inspections, analyze the impacts of potential fire incidents, and conduct regular re-assessments of fire risk areas every year.
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