Fire safety protection motivation and preparedness in Irish apartments: A Post-Grenfell analysis

• Published in: Safety science 2022-04, Vol.148, p.105630, Article 105630
• Main Authors: Brown, Gavin D., Largey, Ann, McMullan, Caroline, Daffy, Paul
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alarm behavior; Apartment buildings; Apartment Fire; Apartments; Data analysis; Fire departments; Fire prevention; Fire protection; Fire Safety; Household Preparedness; Least squares method; Motivation; Protection Motivation Theory; Residential areas; Responsibility; Risk Perception; Safety; Safety management; Safety measures; Smoke; Smoke detectors
• ISSN: 0925-7535; 1879-1042
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ssci.2021.105630

•Those who worry most about fire are less likely to evacuate in response to an alarm.•Higher worry about fire increases frequency of smoke detector testing.•Individual responsibility for fire safety drives owning a fire blanket/extinguisher.•Females are less likely to confirm at least annual testing of smoke detectors. This study used an extended version of Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) to identify the variables that influence fire safety preparedness in apartment buildings. PMT was extended to include an individual’s perceived responsibility for fire safety within their building. A survey of 455 respondents living in apartments in Dublin, Ireland, was undertaken to ascertain the level of fire safety awareness and preparedness among residents. Data analysis included correlations, ordinary least squares regressions and probit analysis. The findings reveal a worrying lack of preparedness and that fire safety preparedness motivation is complex, sometimes producing counterintuitive results. For example, a high level of worry about a fire increased the probability that a respondent tested their smoke detector(s) by 27.4 pp, yet was associated with a 33.3 pp reduction in the probability that a respondent acted in line with the building evacuation policy. The factors which influenced preparedness motivation also varied depending on the specific safety measure. For instance, assuming a personal responsibility for fire safety in the building was positively associated with perceived preparedness and having an extinguisher or fire blanket. Conversely, no relationship was observed between personal responsibility for fire safety and the presence of household fire plans, appropriate fire alarm response behaviour, or smoke detector testing. The critical contribution of this study is the identification of factors that act as barriers to, or facilitators of, fire safety in residential apartments. Understanding what drives fire safety can be used to enhance the effectiveness of preparedness messaging to inform public fire safety campaigns.