PHILADELPHIA — The Center for Firefighter Injury Research & Safety Trends (FIRST Center) and the Fire Department Safety Officers Association (FDSOA) announced on Monday the receipt of a $1.5 million grant from FEMA’s Fire Prevention and Safety (FP&S) program. The funding will extend the scope of the Fire service Organizational Culture of Safety (FOCUS) survey, a fire service-specific safety culture assessment tool.
The FIRST Center said this collaboration is in response to FEMA’s national prevention priorities on firefighter safety projects “designed to measurably change firefighter behavior and decision-making,” adding that “safety culture is a robust predictor of occupational injuries and organizational outcomes such as burnout, job satisfaction, and engagement.”
The funding will extend the scope of the Fire service Organizational Culture of Safety (FOCUS) survey, a fire service-specific safety culture assessment tool. The funding will extend the scope of the Fire service Organizational Culture of Safety (FOCUS) survey, a fire service-specific safety culture assessment tool. (Photo/FIRST Center) The newest grant funding will extend the scope of FOCUS by allowing FIRST and FDSOA to partner with Workers’ Compensation Bureaus (WCBs) to explore models of scale-up and utility so that all U.S. states and territories will be served. The implementation of FOCUS by fire departments covered by each state’s WCB will evaluate the impact on injury and well-being claims as well as explore premium reductions for participants.