Assessment of Risk Perception and Safety Behavior among the Firefighters of Operational Units in Tehran City

The purpose of this study was to determine the level of risk perception and to assess and rate the factors of unsafe behavior among the firefighters in Tehran City. The study investigated the effect of “education and awareness”, “personality capability”, “coordination in teamwork”, “environmental factors and neurological stresses”, and “motivational systems” on risk perception and unsafe behavior of the firefighters working in operational units. The data were collected by interviews and the risk perception questionnaire made by the research team. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were investigated and then, it was used for data collection. The sample size consisted of 510 operational personnel, including directors and deputies of the city districts, station heads, commanders, caretakers, and firefighters, who were selected by random sampling allocation. The findings showed that education and awareness, personality capability, coordination in teamwork and motivational systems were the factors influence the firefighters’ risk perception and unsafe behavior. The results also demonstrated that risk perception plays an important role in the rate of unsafe behavior among firefighters and is influenced by some important organizational and individual characteristics that are highly recommended to be considered in high-risk processes and operations.