Emergency Responder Personal Preparedness
Abstract
Citizens have an expectation that emergency responders will come to their aid during emergencies. There is the general assumption that these responders and the agencies they work for are prepared for any type of event. With a core element of any disaster response being the capability of the emergency responders, a lack of personal preparedness by emergency response personnel is likely to be highly detrimental and will reduce their capability to respond to a catastrophic event. Past incidents and research has indicated that emergency responders may not respond until they have ensured their own families' safety. If responders do not have personal preparedness plans in place and a disaster occurs, they will either be less effective on duty due to being worried about whether or not their family was able to evacuate, shelter in place properly, or be appropriately protected; or they will leave work or fail to show up for work to properly care for their family. Unfortunately, emergency responders do not have the option to assist voluntarily during a disaster -- they must respond to ensure t e public's safety and security. This research used data from a nationwide survey of emergency responders to determine why emergency responders are not personally prepared, and what factors may increase their personal preparedness level. The results identified three reasons why emergency responders do not personally prepare for disasters: (1) they have not thought about it, (2) it costs too much money, and (3) they do not think an emergency will happen to them or their family. Although not initially identified, administrative issues became apparent when the responses to survey questions on incentives/motivations were analyzed. The incentives/motivations can be categorized into three emergency responder agency focus areas: awareness of the issue, funding, and administrative. The thesis concludes with five recommendations for emergency responder agencies.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2011
- Accession Number
- ADA556427
Entities
People
- Chris A. Kelenske
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School