COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF FIRE-FIGHTER INTERVENTIONS IN THREE PROVINCES IN POLAND, BASED ON DATA FROM THREE COUNTIES

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The speed of intervention of Fire Brigade units has a direct impact on the chance of saving people’s lives and the effectiveness of rescue and fire-fighting operations. The aim of the research is to in­dicate the concentration of interventions and characteristics of events divided into the following: fire; local hazards; false alarms; time of arrival of the first fire brigade determined by distance; a comparison of the number of fire-fighters divided into groups of the Volunteer Fire Department (VFD) and State Fire Service (SFS); time of intervention; number of victims; and the need to support cooperating services i.e. police, medical rescue teams (MRT) and AMR Air Ambulance. METHODS: The study was carried out on the basis of reports of events registered by the SFS on duty. Data concerned the period January–March 2017. The study included Siemiatycze county in Podlaskie Province, Łosice county in Mazovia Province and Łukow county in Lublin Province. RESULTS: The frequency of events is higher in the countryside than in cities. The number of VFB in individual counties is similar with 119 in Łosice county and 129 in Łukow county with only 79 in Siemiatycze county, while the number of SFS hosts slightly differs in Łukow county (n = 131) from Łosice county (n = 76) and Siemiatycze county (n = 79), where this number is similar. CONCLUSIONS: Our data indicates that: (1) SFS and VFB reaction time for interventions in our region does not differ from other data available in the literature; (2) this paper is of interest to workforce planners. We hope it provides important information to fire-fighters that should facilitate the maintenance of a successful and effective service.