Study Shows Peer Pressure Impacts Firefighter Safety

Peer pressure plays a major role in a firefighter’s decision to engage in safety measures.

A new study, conducted by Dornsife School of Public Health, delved into the cultural aspect of firefighter safety.

The program was funded by an AFG grant, and headed by Dr. Jennifer Taylor, Drexel University. Andrea Davis, with the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health and Michael Maglio also were involved. 

They analyzed the results of survey of 123 firefighters:

Firefighters’ spoke of how their identity as a firefighter, social and individual pressures, and avoiding certain situations challenged them to use their PPE properly and practice safe behavior.

For example, when firefighters drive excessively fast to the scene of a fire due to the social and individual pressure to arrive first, they often make the decision to get dressed in their PPE en route in the truck without a seat belt on, rather than at the station.

This gets them to the scene seconds faster, but also puts them at risk of being ejected from the truck should they get into a motor vehicle accident. The investigators also examined what behaviors support safety, with firefighters’ telling stories of individual will and organizational support that assisted them in complying with safe behaviors.

Such an instance is demonstrated by a firefighter who chose to keep wearing his self-contained breathing apparatus in a smoky environment, even though the rest of his crew encouraged him to remove it and assured him he did not need to continue using it. Using qualitative inquiry, the team was able to examine situations in which PPE use is both practiced and neglected while adding to our understanding of perceptions and social norms within the fire service.”

It was a collaborative effort with Dr. Cliff Scott of UNC Charlotte’s Department of Organizational Science and Communication Studies, and Dr. Joseph Allen of University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Department of Industrial and Organizational Psychology.