Evaluation of the disaster preparedness of the fire brigades in Turkey

The aim of the study is to examine the disaster preparedness of fire departments affiliated with the fire brigades of metropolitan, provincial, district and town municipalities in Turkey. The universe of this study includes the fire departments of the metropolitan municipalities and the fire brigades of the provincial, district and town municipalities in Turkey and it was tried to reach all of the universe of the study. This is a cross-sectional epidemiological study. The questionnaires were sent via ordinary mail. Within the scope of the survey, 74.7% of the fire brigades were reached. Population of the area of responsibility of fire brigades participating in the research study makes up 83.3 % (69,240,155) of the population of Turkey, and the surface area of the area of responsibility of fire brigades makes up 78.6% (612,735 km2) of the surface area of Turkey. 26.9% of the fire brigades participating in the survey stated that their preparedness in the units for disasters is sufficient and 30.6% of them stated that personnel working in disasters and fires are at a sufficient level. 50.0% of the fire brigades participating in the study stated that their units have internal service instructions, 42.1% have an internal disaster plan in their units, and 23.4% have an external disaster plan in their units. The average point value of the disaster preparedness of the fire brigades involved in the study is 20,32; the standard deviation is 14,380; the median value is 17,00.