Latent Cosmopolitan and Local Orientation Among Rural Emergency Service Volunteers

Abstract

In rural regions, trained volunteerfirefighters and medics provide emergency services, often with considerable personal risk and without financial reward.Howevel; these Volunteers exhibit two different latent orientations: jirefighters are more localistic in their outlook than medical volunteers. These latent orientations refect the structural characteristics of the two emergency service agencies. These orientations are empirically demonstrated to persist in the volunteering and personal attributes ofthe volunteers themselves. Survey data are incorporated into a probit model to indicate the relative influence of orientationalfactors on where the volunteers offer their emergency services.In most rural regions of the nation, emergency fire and medical services are provided by volunteer members offire departments and medical squads. These trained volunteers provide essential, nondeferrable public goods to their communities, often with considerable personal risk and without pecuniary reward.Although usually distinct organizations, volunteer medical squads and fire departments often provide their services cooperatively during community emergencies because many events that require the intervention of one require intervention of the other. A typical scenario is the personal injury automobile accident, where the fire department is called on to suppress fire and extricate injured people from the wreck while the rescue squad attends to the medical needs of the victims and transports them to the appropriate medical facility for definitive medical care. A similar cooperative evolution takes place at structure fires, hazardous materials incidents, and other rescue operations.Many volunteer fire departments currently include medically trained personnel, which contributes to the cooperative nature of these emergency operations.Note: I am indebted to Robert McAulay. David Kennett, and three anonymous reviewers for comments on earlier drafts.