The Functionality of Firefighting Equipment as Perceived by the Firefighters in Cagayan de Oro City

This study aimed to 1) describe the profile of the firefighters in terms of educational attainment, length of service, related trainings / seminars attended for the past three years, number of fire incidents responded for the past three years, and types of buildings where fire occurred; 2) determine the firefighters’ perceptions on the functionality of firefighting equipment; 3) determine if there is a significant difference in the firefighters perceptions on the functionality of firefighting equipment when they are grouped according to their profile. The study was conducted through the descriptive research design. According to Best and Kahn (1998), a descriptive research design is concerned with functional relationships with an attempt at developing generalizations or principles that have universal validity based on present conditions. The study was done in Cagayan de Oro City. The respondents were composed of thirty (30) who were chosen through the purposive sampling technique with the following inclusion criteria: a) at least 1-5 years of length of service; and b) have responded to at least 1-10 fire hazards for the past three years. The questionnaire was the research tool in gathering the data. The items on the functionality of fire prevention facilities were adopted from Section 6 of P.D. No. 1185. The data gathering started after the Director of the Bureau of Fire Protection granted permission to conduct the study with a letter endorsed by the Dean of the College of Law Enforcement and Public Safety of Liceo de Cagayan University. The data were organized, presented, analyzed and interpreted through the frequency counts, percentages, weighted mean, and the null hypothesis was tested through the t-test and f-test of significant differences. Most of the firefighters obtained an appropriate course in Criminology with five to fifteen years as average bracket in terms of length of service. An enormous number of them had participated in related trainings and seminars geared towards the skills in fire prevention, investigation, and inspection. Most of them had responded to one to twenty fire incidents for the past three years. Most of the fire incidences that they have responded were residential and commercial buildings and the majority happened in the urban areas. The perception on the functionality of firefighting equipment is on a moderate level. The most salient perceptions with a high degree of functionality are on the sustained workability of fire trucks, hose, ladder, and tower ladder. An alarming finding is on the moderate dysfunction of some devices, to wit: salvage cover basin, hose clamp, rope, hose bridge, extinguishing system, ground, aerial ladder, room ladder, and rubber mallet. The respondents’ educational attainment has a significant effect on their perception for it appeared that the firemen with BS Criminology and BS Nursing degrees provided a higher level of perceptual skills compared with the other groups. On the other hand, length of service, related trainings/seminars attended, frequency of fire incidents, types of buildings, and area/locations where fire occurred do not have a significant bearing to the respondents’ perceptions on the functionality of firefighting equipment.

 

Keywords: Functionality, Firefighting Equipment, Firefighters