Measuring Fire-ground Operational Occupational Stress

What is it about?

Firefighting is a dangerous and stressful job, but until now there has been no tool designed specifically to measure the stress firefighters face during operations. This study created and tested a new questionnaire – the Scale of Occupational Stress for Firefighters (SOOS-F). To build it, we first talked with experienced firefighters to understand what situations cause them the most stress. Experts then reviewed the questions to make sure they were relevant and clear. After testing with hundreds of firefighters, we found the scale measures two main types of stress: teamwork-related stress (working together under pressure) and person-related stress (individual strain and challenges). The final scale has 30 questions and was shown to be reliable, accurate, and meaningful when compared with other well-known stress and resilience measures. This new tool will help researchers, fire departments, and policymakers better understand and manage the stresses of firefighting, with the goal of improving firefighter health, performance, and safety.

Featured Image

Photo by Matt C on Unsplash

Photo by Matt C on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Firefighting stress can harm health, safety, and performance, but until now there was no reliable way to measure stress from actual firefighting operations. This new scale helps identify what stresses firefighters most, so departments and policymakers can design better support systems, improve well-being, and keep firefighters safer on the job.

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