Adoption of fire prevention measures – Predictors in a representative German sample

Abstract

Whereas for natural hazards a great deal of research has been conducted concerning the predictors of individual preparedness, there is an unusual shortcoming with respect to residential fires. This is all the more surprising as residential fires are far more common than natural disasters. This article investigates the applicability of findings on predictors of individual disaster preparedness for home fire prevention by means of a cross-sectional telephone survey conducted with a representative German sample (N=2175). Data were obtained as part of the project “Rescue, Aid and Culture II” and analyzed using path analyses. Personal experience with and perceived likelihood of home fires were investigated as predictors for three preventive measures, namely smoke detectors, fire extinguishers and fire blankets. Additionally, the roles of perceived knowledge of preventive measures, perceived efficacy of these measures and self-efficacy were examined. In our models perceived knowledge was a significant predictor of all three preparedness measures. For the dependent variable fire extinguishers we found a partial mediation of the influence of perceived knowledge through perceived efficacy and self-efficacy. Personal experience proved to be significantly associated with the presence of smoke detectors and fire extinguishers, whereas perceived likelihood of a residential fire was associated with the presence of fire blankets. Overall we found evidence that some predictors of individual disaster preparedness are likewise important for residential fire preparedness, although the associations were less strong than expected.