PurposeHow firefighters cope with critical incidents is partly influenced by the culture of the fire brigade. The purpose of this study is to better understand how informal peer support helps firefighters cope with critical incidents.Design/methodology/approachAn ethnographic field study of explorative nature was conducted. Data were collected by means of 20 participating observations and 72 interviews with Dutch firefighters from 37 different fire brigades. The analysis was an iterative process alternating data collection, analysis and theory formation processes.FindingsFirefighters will turn to informal peer support to cope with critical incidents provided that facilitating circumstances are present and there is adherence to certain implicit rules. The collective sharing of memories, whether immediately post-incident or after the passage of time, helps firefighters process critical incidents and serves to promote unit cohesion. Most firefighters reported these informal debriefings to be preferable to the formal sessions. By comparison, a minority of firefighters reported that they did not benefit at all from the informal interactions.Research limitations/implicationsThis study only focused on the informal peer support given by colleagues. Future research should focus on: (1) The possible differences between men and women as to what extent informal peer support is experienced after critical incidents, (2) Commanding officers: how do they, given their hierarchical position, experience coming to terms with critical incidents, (3) Premeditated critical incidents and the role of informal peer support, (4) Similarities and differences between career and non-career firefighters in experiencing and coping critical incidents.Practical implicationsFirefighters are an under-researched group in academic literature, that would benefit from mental health counsellors having a better understanding of their unique work culture and the complexity of the firefighting profession. More knowledge about the role of informal peer support is necessary to tailor help and aftercare more effectively to their needs.Originality/valueMost studies confirm the importance of informal peer support when coping with critical incidents. This study provides initial, in-depth evidence of the role of informal peer support in helping firefighters cope with critical incidents.

Firefighters encounter critical incidents as part of their work. Little research has been conducted into the impact of critical incidents on firefighters' well-being and performance. The goal of this study is to gain in-depth understanding of firefighters' experiences with critical incidents and their impact on both individual firefighters and their crews. Data were collected by means of 20 participant observations and 72 interviews with Dutch firefighters from 37 different fire stations. Whether an incident is experienced as critical depends on the type of incident, the personal situation and the circumstances of the incident. Directly or indirectly, experiencing a critical incidents impacts firefighters during and after the incident, both professionally and personally. Experiencing critical incidents affects the dynamics within a crew. Knowledge about their impact is necessary to tailor help and aftercare more effectively to firefighters' needs.

Summary Nowadays, buildings contain more and more synthetic insulation materials in order to meet the increasing energy‐performance demands. These synthetic insulation materials have a different response to fire. In this study, the mass loss and flammability limits of different sandwich panels and their cores (polyurethane (PUR), polyisocyanurate (PIR) and stone wool) are studied separately by using a specially designed furnace. Expanded polystyrene and extruded polystyrene are tested on their cores only. The research has shown that the actual mass loss of synthetic and stone wool‐based cores is comparable up to 300 °C. From 300 °C onwards, the mass loss of PUR panels is significant higher. The mass losses up to 350 °C are 7%, 29% and 83% for stone wool, PIR and PUR respectively, for the influenced area. Furthermore, delamination can be observed at exposure to temperatures above 250 °C for the synthetic and 350 °C for the mineral wool panels. Delamination occurs due to the degradation of the resin between core and metal panels and the gasification of the (PUR) core. The lower flammability limits have been established experimentally at 9.2% m/m (PUR) and 3.1% m/m (PS). For PUR, an upper limit of 74% was found. For PIR and mineral wool, no flammability limits could be established. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Firefighters are reluctant to talk about firefighters’ humor with outsiders. This closed attitude has led to a lack of understanding of this important coping strategy in the outside world. It is not clear how firefighters experience humor and its role as part of the fire service culture and why they consider humor to be important when coping with critical incidents. Data has been collected by means of 20 participant observations and 72 interviews with Dutch firefighters from 37 different fire stations. Joking culture and joviality are important elements of the Dutch fire service culture. Firefighter humor usually creates unity, but can also lead to exclusion. Whether a joke is perceived as funny depends on who makes the joke, the moment, the content, and the frequency of the joke. Black humor is used as a means to start a conversation and, indirectly, to make it possible to discuss emotions and it tends to positively influence group dynamics. However, black humor is absent in the case of certain critical incidents because of personal boundaries and unwritten rules. The absence of humor is a sign for the crew commander to pay extra attention to coping.

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