Employment standards for Australian urban firefighters. Part 1: The essential, physically demanding tasks

Authors

Nigel A.S. Taylor, University of WollongongFollow
Hugh Fullagar, University of WollongongFollow
Brendan Mott, Fire & Rescue NSW
John Andrew Sampson, University of WollongongFollow
Herb Groeller, University of WollongongFollow

RIS ID

103547

Publication Details

Taylor, N. A.S.., Fullagar, H. H. K., Mott, B. J., Sampson, J. A. & Groeller, H. Employment standards for Australian urban firefighters. Part 1: The essential, physically demanding tasks. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 2015; 57 (10): 1063-1071.

Abstract

Objective: This communication is the first of four describing the development of defensible firefighter-selection tests. The purpose was to identify a subset of essential, physically demanding tasks performed by contemporary urban firefighters. Methods: From existing procedural documentation and job analyses, 11 fire-station visits and interviews with 106 firefighters, and one focus-group meeting, 31 physically demanding tasks were identified and incorporated into a workforce survey. Using this tool, firefighters rated the importance, perceived difficulty, typical task durations, and annual performance frequency of each task. Results: Data from 989 respondents were analyzed, enabling a consolidation of these tasks into a subset of essential activities. Conclusions: These processes yielded a content-valid list of 15 essential, physically demanding tasks covering the full width of duties performed by urban firefighters from Australia's largest fire and rescue organization.