Response time as organizational performance of the protection and rescue service

Abstract

The paper proceeds from the fact that the performance of individuals and organizational units (organizations) affect their efficiency. Regarding the protection and rescue units, their key organizational performance is the response time, understood as the duration of time from the moment of receiving the fire warning until the firefighting and rescue team arrives at the place of engagement. The paper analyzes the impact of the response time of the firefighting and rescue unit on the duration of firefighting. For the analysis, operational data on fires for the area of the City of Belgrade (Serbia) were used, over a 24-year period (1986-2009). Data were processed using linear regression (Pearson Correlation) and its nonparametric alternative - Spearman's rank order correlation. It is concluded that the response time of the firefighting and rescue unit to arrive to the place of fire (organizational performance) affects the duration of firefighting, so that the shorter the response time, the shorter time it takes to extinguish the fire, with less damage caused and more goods rescued (organizational efficiency), and vice versa, the longer the response time - the longer the time of firefighting, with greater damage caused and less goods rescued.

Polazište ovog rada jeste činjenica da performanse pojedinaca i organizacionih jedinica (organizacija) utiču na njihov učinak. Kada je reč o subjektima zaštite i spasavanja, njihovu ključnu organizacionu performansu predstavlja vreme odziva, shvaćeno kao trajanje od trenutka dolaska informacije o požaru do trenutka stizanja vatrogasno-spasilačke ekipe na mesto angažovanja. Preciznije, u radu se analizira uticaj vremena odziva vatrogasno-spasilačke jedinice na trajanje gašenja požara. Za analizu su korišćeni operativni podaci o požarima za područje grada Beograda, u periodu od 24 godine (1986-2009). Podaci su obrađeni primenom linearne regresije (Pearson Correlation) i njenom neparametarskom alternativom - Spirmanovim testom korelacije rangova (Spearman's rank order correlation). Zaključeno je da vreme odziva vatrogasno-spasilačke jedinice na mesto požara (organizaciona performansa) utiče na trajanje njegovog gašenja, tako da, što je ono kraće - kraće je vreme gašenja požara, šteta je manja i ima više spasenih dobara (organizacioni učinak). Obrnuto, ako je vreme odziva vatrogasno-spasilačke jedinice duže - duže je i vreme gašenja požara, uz veće štete i manje spasenih dobara.