The management of occupational health and safety by the Civil Protection Department

Abstract

The aim of this study is to identify how the Civil Protection Department manages the occupational health and safety of the firefighters within its ranks, when Act XXVII of 2000 is exempting the Department from following the same Act in view of the nature of its activities. In order to identify the work practices used by the Civil Protection, a questionnaire was sent to members of the force and face-to-face interviews were conducted with key members of the same Department. The work practices that were identified have been investigated with all those concerned in order to get their feedback. The study confirmed various gaps that the Civil Protection Department suffers from in order to implement proper occupational health and safety whilst firefighters are responding to emergencies. Though such gaps were confirmed by the Director of Civil Protection Department, the existence of a culture of un-safety was also identified with most of the firefighters who seem to embrace the fact that danger is part and parcel of the job and that they have to endanger their health and safety in order to respond quickly to an emergency. This study also shows that even though the Department suffers from lack of human and financial resources, it has managed to maintain a decent level of health and safety by training, when possible, its personnel and by purchasing, though with certain limitations, adequate personal protective equipment which is the first line of defence of a firefighter.