Organizing for Emergencies - Issues in Wildfire Fighting in Croatia

Abstract

Croatia's accession to the European Union implies inevitable changes in the national emergency management system. New requirements for adjustment in accordance with the EU standards and practices also apply to the fire-services organization. Harmonious functioning of a large number of relatively autonomous organizations related to the National Protection and Rescue Directorate necessitates clear decision-making authority and coordination mechanisms as well as a high level of interoperability and core competencies development. This paper gives an overview of the Croatian fire protection organization along with its accompanying legislation, followed by an analysis of identified problems, especially those concerning fighting of wildfire. In our research a survey questionnaire comprised of Likert-scale items was used to assess the attitudes and experiences of trained fire department members. The respondents reported a relatively low evaluation of effectiveness and appropriateness of the following key fire service attributes: organizational structure, legislation and firefighting logistics support. From the obtained results guidelines can be drawn for possible redesign of the emergency management organization, especially those concerning the fire protection service.

The survey of citizen attitudes toward preparedness for disasters caused by wildfires: Case study: Prijepolje

“…Осмишљавање и дизајнирање анкетног упитника подразумевало је више корака. Најпре су идентификована сва истраживања (Fabac et al, 2015;Eriksen et al, 2016; у којима су коришћене скале за испитивање нивоа припремљености грађана на катастрофе изазване шумским пожарима. Потом, на основу прикупљених истраживања, идентификоване су све мере које припремљеност на катастрофе подразумева и креиран је анкетни упитник за потребе овог истраживања.…”

“…Designing and designing the survey questionnaire involved several steps. First, all studies using scales to examine the level of preparedness of citizens for disasters caused by wildfires were identified (Fabac et al, 2015;Eriksen et al, 2016;. Then, based on the research collected, all measures that mean disaster preparedness were identified and a survey questionnaire was created for the purpose of this research.…”

“…Eriksen et al addressed wildfire protection and rescue plans in Australia and indicated that such plans should include an explanation of the actions of all household members and recommendations for multiple unforeseen circumstances, given that proper decision making may be affected in these situations due to the impact of insecurity, fear and adrenaline on cognitive function (Eriksen et al, 2016). Fabac et al (2015) pointed out the dissatisfaction of the citizens in Croatia with the organization of logistical support in the fight against wildfires. Given that fires are inevitable in many parts of Australia, numerous studies on to the preparedness of residents for disasters caused by wildfires in this area have been conducted , including a number of studies related to preparedness for other disasters (Aleksandrina et al, 2019;Cvetkovic et al, 2020;Ocal et al, 2020;Cvetković & Martinović, 2020).…”

“…Ериксен и сарадници су разматрали планове заштите и спасавања од шумских пожара у Аустралији и указали да такви планови треба да садрже објашњење акција свих чланова домаћинства и препоруке за вишеструке непредвиђене околности, будући да у таквим ситуацијама правилно доношење одлука може бити нарушено због утицаја несигурности, страха и адреналина на когнитивну функцију (Eriksen et al, 2016). Фабац и сарадници (Fabac et al, 2015) указали су на незадовољство становника Хрватске са степеном организације логистичке подршке у борби против шумских пожара. Имајући у виду да су пожари неизбежни у многим деловима Аустралије, спроведене су многобројне студије које се односе на припремљеност становника на катастрофе изазване шумским пожарима у поменутој области , али и већи број студија које се односе на припремљеност за друге катастрофе (Aleksandrina et al, 2019; Cvetkovic et al, 2020;Ocal et al, 2020;Cvetković & Martinović, 2020).…”