Risk Management in the Fire Service, Research Proposal Example

Risk management deals with “safety, health, financial impact, and loss control” (Risk Management Practices in the Fire Service, 1996, p. 1). This paper will propose issues and strategy in approaching these issues when it comes to risk management in the fire service. Any fire prevention service industry must first consider potential harms and risks within their agency. Issues such as injury and death are the main factors when it comes to fire prevention therefore something that must be part of any new strategy should be assesses equipment, doing physical/psychological tests, second to this is disaster, injury, and potential destruction. Damage to the facility should also be of concern. With these issues a strategy that includes potential risk and possible ways in which to curtail any permanent damage, deal with risks while they’re occurring and after they’ve occurred. Each of these three phases should have drills that are run as part of the training in the fire service that employees are well prepared for worst-case scenarios.

When it comes to fire service risk management should have a proposal that includes the following three controls: administrative, engineering and personal protection. With administration the main risk assessment pertains to making an environment safe for the worker (e.g. guidelines and manuals that are up-to-date and include tasks for workers to complete or involve themselves in, in order to properly deal with risk). Engineering should include risk assessment for engineering systems (engines, hose, work tools) that should be checked on a six-month basis to ensure that the systems are operating at full capacity and without harm done to the worker. Personal protection should focus on worker equipment such as tools, helmets, and gloves that in turn will serve to protect workers during a high-risk scenario. These tools and equipments should be checked on a month-to-month basis as the fire service is prone to high use and damage to equipment is unavoidable. Therefore, having a monthly check of equipment will ensure that the worker’s tools are in full working order. This in turn will ensure that minor damages aren’t incurred due to worn out equipment or equipment that isn’t up-to-date. In order to prevent such harm, it is important to know what the threat is and identifying how to control the risk by evaluating proper risk management practices. Also, as the tech industry advances, the fire services industry should implement any new tools that would in turn save worker’s lives, limbs, and help to ensure their safety. The purpose of these improvements, modifications and assessments is to present a community with a fully functional and proper working fire service station.

Potential problems with keeping up-to-date tools is the risk to cost, “For example, an agency could run up large bills replacing or repairing damaged, lost, or stolen equipment and apparatus, It could incur high expenses paying liability claims for vehicle accidents, paying medical bills for injured members, legal expenses to defend against claims, and paying overtime replacing them. In other words–the agency could be spending money to compensate for circumstances that should have been avoided” (Risk Management Practices in the Fire Service, 1996, p. 11). Therefore there must be proper loss prevention involved in the risk management plan. As such, direct and indirect costs need to be assessed. With indirect costs it may be better to have spare equipment ready for when an engineering malfunction occurs because this prevents costs for quick replacement and insures that any potential injury that may occur to workers because of loss of this equipment is circumvented.

References

Risk Management Practices in the Fire Service. (1996). Federal Emergency Management Agency United States Fire Administration. Retrieved from http://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/fa-166.pdf