• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.332-340
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• 2021

The purpose of this study was to present a method for the application of drones through analysis after surveying Jeollanam-do firefighters regarding the recognition, operation, field of application, necessary field of work, and the need for education on fire drones. As a result of the survey, 80.29% of respondents were found to be willing to operate drones, and the fields of work for which drones were considered the most necessary were in the order of rescue, fire suppression, life safety, first aid, and others. Besides, 77.38% of respondents thought that drones could contribute to the prevention of safety accidents for firefighters, and 70.13% of respondents thought that it would be appropriate to recruit firefighting drone operators through changing positions, and respondents chose firefighters in their 40s as the most suitable age group for firefighting drone operation. Also, 82.84% of respondents said they would participate in drone training, and they recognized that the use of drones could contribute to solving the physical problems caused by the aging of firefighters, and that drone training would also help firefighters manage their retirement. The fields where firefighting drones are used were investigated in the order of searching for requestors, checking on-site information, and checking on-site prior risk. In this study, a difference analysis for each group was performed according to the drone operation experience. There was a statistically significant difference in the items of safety measures for requestors. The results of variance analysis by work experience confirmed that there were statistically significant differences in a total of eight items, including four items related to the field of use of drones, and the age group of the drone operating crew, and whether or not to help retirement management.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.398-407
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• 2021

Firefighters (who are responsible for people's safety) have one of the jobs that are expected to have problems due to aging in the workforce. An increase in the average age of firefighters can lead to serious social problems. The aim of this study is to survey firefighters in Jeollanam-do about their awareness of aging in firefighters, and to propose a plan to prepare them for aging through investigation and analysis of work problems that may occur due to an aging workforce. The survey shows that the higher the age group, the higher the awareness of aging firefighters, and the higher the total work experience and internal/external work experience, the higher the awareness of aging. As a plan to solve various problems that may arise from aging in firefighters, regular operation of physical fitness promotion programs, field work, job rotation, and managerial measures (such as a change of position to an administrative department) are prepared, and drone or robot technology is used. These solutions include the introduction of applied high-tech technologies to firefighting activities, establishment of retirement management policies, and preparation of plans to revitalize the connection to private employment. In order to maximize the applicability of the field, government institutional plans and preparations are essential.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.115-120
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• 2020

This study aimed to assist the improvement of organizational commitment and the preparation of an action plan regarding support from the organization by examining the effects of organizational culture types and perceived organizational support on firefighters' organizational commitment. To this end, 205 fire-fighting officers from the northern area of Gyeonggi-do were surveyed using the purposive sampling method. The results demonstrated that among organizational culture types, the perception of group culture, rational culture, and organizational support held by firefighters had a significant influence on their organizational commitment. Based on these results, this study suggested various support plans at the organizational level for stimulating group culture and rational culture among firefighters, and improving organizational commitment.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.125-136
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• 2008

Corruption of the bureaucratic society can cause the whole society to corrupt and it can also increase public expense gradually because of the civil society's distrust of the administration. Throughout experience of front-line firefighters, this study lets the entire firefighters take an interest in increasing integrity and make it the primary assignment of fire administration. It is the most important to find out the illogical systems and try to improve them in order to solve the increasingly secret and sophisticated forms of corruption completely. The purpose of this study is to show the ways to improve firefighters' integrity by analyzing and pointing out the main factor and the realities of corruption of firefighters.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.161-164
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• 2014

Obesity is a significant problem affecting United States (US) firefighters. While body mass index (BMI) is widely used to diagnose obesity, its use for this occupational group has raised concerns about validity. We examined rates and types of misclassification of BMI-based obesity status compared to body fat percentage (BF%) and waist circumference (WC). Male career firefighters (N = 994) from 20 US departments completed all three body composition assessments. Mean BMI, BF%, and WC were $29kg/m^2$, 23%, and 97 cm, respectively. Approximately 33% and 15% of BF%- and WC-defined obese participants were misclassified as non-obese (false negatives) using BMI, while 8% and 9% of non-obese participants defined by BF% and WC standards were identified as obese (false positives) using BMI. When stratified by race/ethnicity, Pacific Islanders showed high rates of false positive misclassification. Precision in obesity classification would be improved by using WC along with BMI to determine firefighters' weight status.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.133-145
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• 2014

Aging of the fire organizations, typical disaster response agencies also will be in serious problems with aging society. It is expected that the ratio of more than fifties will reach 31~40% after 10~15 years in Seoul fire organization. This Aging of firefighters can bring about a serious problem in disaster and safety management, since firefighters require robust fitness and healthy bodies in disaster situations. In this study, after the analysis of aging status and trend of firefighters in Seoul, I have an empirical analysis about the impact this aging has on organization effectiveness and QA. As a result, the increase of the elderly reduced organization effectiveness and QA. In addition, in the group consisting of less than 50, it is expected to increase the organization's effectiveness and QA activities through field activity to improve the professional skills with age, but could not be confirmed. In the group consisting of more than fifties, it was found that aging had a significant negative impact on organizational effectiveness and QA activities as factors, including physical deterioration by aging.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.116-121
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• 2018

This study aimed to provide help to seeking a preventive method of intervention in firefighter's depression by investigating empowerment and family function level of firefighter's on their depression. For this, the study conducted purposive sampling survey among 351 firefighters at Gyeonggi area. As a result of the research, all of empowerment and family function had a significant effect on depression of firefighters. Based on these findings, the study demonstrated the potential for applying each individual's empowerment as an internal resource for their prevention of mental health. The study suggested that diverse counter measures are needed to boost family bond and family functionality of firefighters, and also proposed positive adoption and assistance for preventive and effective implementation of 'work and life balance' policy to derive the recovery of healthiness of families.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.569-576
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• 2019

Objectives: The main purpose of this study was to assess firefighters' daily personal noise exposure and explore noise levels related to specific tasks and their contributions to total noise exposure using 24-hour full-shift noise exposure measurements with task-based data. Methods: Noise exposure was assessed for eight firefighters (two rescuers, two drivers, and four suppressors) using time-activity diaries. We collected a total of 24 full-shift personal noise sample sets (three samples per a firefighter). The 24-hour shift-adjusted daily personal noise exposure level (L_ep,d), eight weekly personal noise exposures (L_eq,w), and 40 task-specific L_eq values (L_{eq activity}) were calculated via the ISO/NIOSH method. Results: The firefighter noise-sample datasets showed that most firefighters are exposed to noise levels above EU recommended levels at a low-action value. The highest noise exposure was for rescuers, followed by drivers and suppressors. Noise measurements with time-at-task information revealed that 82.3% of noise exposure occurred when checking equipment and responding to fire or emergency calls. Conclusions: The results indicate that firefighters are at risk of noise-induced hearing loss. Therefore, efforts at noise-control are necessary for their protection. This task-specific noise exposure assessment also shows that protective measures should be focused on certain tasks, such as checking and testing equipment.

• The Korean Journal of Emergency Medical Services
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.61-72
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• 2018

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to analyze the effects of ethical decision making factors on vocational ethics and job satisfaction of firefighters and to provide basic data to promote appropriate vocational ethics and improve job satisfaction. Methods: A self-reported questionnaire was filled out by firefighters in D metropolitan area from May 7 to 15, 2017. A total of 410 data were analyzed using SPSS 24.0 program. Results: Among influential factors of ethical decision making, "ethical environment of organization"(${\beta}=.266$), "coworkers' influence" (${\beta}=.216$), and "managers' ethical competence" (${\beta}=.148$), 'compensation and punishment'(${\beta}=.097$) had a positive effect on vocational ethics, while "coworkers' influence" (${\beta}=.281$), "ethical environment of organization" (${\beta}=.274$), and "managers' ethical competence" (${\beta}=.143$) had a positive effect on job satisfaction. Vocational ethics was found to have a significantly positive effect on job satisfaction (B=.657, t=8.802, p=.000). Conclusion: It is necessary to promote vocational ethics for improvement of firefighters' job satisfaction, and appropriate ethics education should be provided. It is important to actively manage the factors affecting ethical decision making.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2019

Firefighters wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for protection from environmental hazards. However, due to the layers of protective functions, the PPE inevitably adds excessive weight, bulkiness, and thermal stress to firefighters. This study investigated the adverse impact of wearing PPE as an occupational stressor on the firefighter's cognitive functioning. Twenty-three firefighters who had been involved in firefighting at least for 1 year were recruited. The overall changing trend in the firefighter's cognitive functioning (short-term memory, long-term memory, and inductive reasoning) was measured by the scores of three standardized cognitive tests at the baseline and the follow-up, after participating in a moderate-intensity physical activity, wearing a full ensemble of the PPE. The study findings evinced the negative impact of the PPE on the firefighter's cognitive functioning, especially in short-term memory and inductive reasoning. No significant influence was found on the firefighter's long-term memory. The results were consistent when the participant's age and BMI were controlled. The outcomes of the present study will not only fill the gap in the literature, but also provide critical justification to stakeholders, including governments, policymakers, academic communities, and industry, for such efforts to improve human factors of the firefighter's PPE by realizing the negative consequences of the added layers and protective functions on their occupational safety. Study limitations and future directions were also discussed.