Psychological Preparedness of Bomba Hazmat teams in West Malaysia, for Emergency Hazmat Response

This is a study of the Psychological Preparedness of a group of 361 Bomba Hazmat personnel located in Penang, Selangor, Wilayah Persekutuan, Negeri Sembilan/Melaka, Johor and Terengganu. The group comprised of 130 subjects trained overseas or at the Akademi Bomba; and 231 trained at the local Bomba stations of the respective states. These were compared with a matched contrast group of 123 voluntary fire fighters in Sungei Way Free Trade Zone, Petaling Jaya, by age, gender, and rank. The sample subjects had significantly higher psychological preparedness than the contrast subjects in all parts of the psychological skills tested. The difference in psychological preparedness of the Hazmat personnel in Penang was significant compared to those from the other states studied. The sample subjects scored higher psychological skills in one or more parts of psychological skills in every state studied. Also there was significant correlation between the level of education and the psychological preparedness of the sample subjects under study. These findings gave rise to the following highlights: • The most striking result was that Penang state's hazmat personnel were the most outstanding in psychological preparedness. • An interesting result was the importance of education level in relation to psychological preparedness. • The surprising result is the below par score of all Bomba hazmat personnel in the physical condition category The importance of psychological training has never been so real to Bomba considering that the present fire service is not only involved in fire suppression activities but also has an increasing role in the delivery of rescue services and response to incidents involving hazardous materials. These Bomba activities and functions are directly related to stress and the emotional and psychological consequence of providing emergency services. Hence the psychological preparedness of these emergency personnel is crucial to the success of the Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba).

Text 115088.pdf Download (10MB) Official URL or Download Paper: http://ethesis.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/18218

Actions (login required)

View Item