Fires within the built environment are a fact of life and through design and the application of the building regulations and design codes, the risk of fire to the building occupants can be minimised. However, the building regulations within the UK do not deal with property protection and focus solely on the safety of the building occupants. This research details the statistical analysis of the UK Fire and Rescue Service and the Fire Protection Association's fire incident databases to create a loss model framework, allowing the designers of a buildings fire safety systems to conduct a cost benefit analysis on installing additional fire protection solely for property protection. It finds that statistical analysis of the FDR 1 incident database highlights the data collection methods of the Fire and Rescue Service ideally need to be changed to allow further risk analysis on the UK building stock, that the statistics highlight that the incidents affecting the size of a fire are the time from ignition to discovery and the presence of dangerous materials, that sprinkler activations may not be as high as made out by sprinkler groups and that the activation of an alarm system gives a smaller size fire. The original contribution to knowledge that this PhD makes is to analyse the FDR 1 database to try and create a loss model, using data from both the Fire Protection Association and the Fire and Rescue Service.

Bakgrund: Uppsatsen tar upp problematiken kring att organisera arbetstid inom räddningstjänst. Grundförutsättningarna är att räddningstjänst är en High Reliability Organisation (HRO) och att det påverkar organisationen. I och med New Public Management (NPM) framfart och den ekonomiska situationen i världen har räddningstjänsten fått ett ökat krav på kostnadsbesparingar och resursutnyttjande. Då personalkostnader står för en stor del av räddningstjänstens kostnader kan förändringar av brandmännens arbetstid och skiftgång vara ett logiskt steg, något som skett i Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS). Syfte: Syftet med uppsatsen är ett ge ett teoretiskt bidrag till hur NPM influerade reformer påverkar en HRO. För att göra detta frågar vi oss vad de olika skiftformerna får för konsekvenser för de anställda och organisationen. Metod: Uppsatsen har en kvalitativ forskningsansats vid studerandet av fallorganisationen Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service och Storstockholms Brandförsvar. Data har samlats in främst genom intervjuer men vi har även använt oss av kompletterande observationer och dokumentsstudier. Den analysmetod vi valt är tematisering då denna underlättar vår analys genom att empirin bryts ner och kategoriseras. Resultat: Studiens resultat identifierar olika faktorer som påverkar organisationens medvetenhet samt arbetsmiljö. Det förs en diskussion huruvida dessa faktorer bidrar till en förstärkning eller en försvagning samt att mönster mellan påverkan på medvetenheten och arbetsmiljön undersöks.

Större och mer svårbekämpade bränder har de senaste åren svept fram på flera platser runtom i världen. Ett föränderligt klimat skapar långa torrperioder till följd av höga temperaturer och värmeböljor. Räddningstjänster i de drabbade länderna ställs ofta inför en monumental uppgift med att hantera svårsläckta bränder i många gånger extrema förhållanden. Utifrån detta är det av vikt att undersöka de bakomliggande orsakerna och faktorer som spelar in, innan, under och efter en skogsbrand för att ge en mer nyanserad bild av de utmaningar räddningstjänsten ställs inför.Syftet med detta examensarbete var vidare att undersöka antändning- och spridningsbenägenhet samt värmeutveckling i tre olika typer av vanligt förekommande undervegetation i skogarna i Götaland. Resultaten från studien visar att granmarksproverna har en mindre intensiv spridning i förhållande till tallmarksproverna. Spridningen sker däremot såväl över proverna som under ytan och skapar glödbrand. Vikten av eftersläckningsarbete tillsammans med värmekamera för att upptäcka glödbrand bör därför anses som mycket viktigt utifrån de resultat som framkommit.

Human enhancement (HE) is the field of research aiming to improve and overcome the biological limitations of the physical and mental performance of humans. The implications of HE might especially prove relevant within high-intensity environments, such as the working environment of police and fire and rescue services. The aim of this thesis is to identify the needs of personnel within these domains and to highlight potential HE solutions that could aid to improve responder performance in the setting of an active emergency. Interviews conducted with representatives for the Swedish police and fire and rescue service highlighted the need for support of mental performance in the form of destressing during highintensity situations as well as an improvement of creating situational awareness and making adequate decisions in a short amount of time. The results imply a potential of implementing HE solutions that aid emergency responders by keeping them alert and open for information gathering or minimizing the experienced level of stress while providing vital information for a proper response. The thesis alsoconcluded a generally positive attitude towards implementation of HE solutions.

The thesis is focused on work with the data and information for the Fire and Rescue Service of South Bohemia Region, and its goal is to determine whether the data and information faced by members and employees of Fire and Rescue Service in their work are treated in accordance with applicable legislation, and whether they are adequately secured and protected against misuse and loss. Based on the organizational structure of qualitative research are mapped in detail the security and protection of data on individual departments and workplaces. These information compile risk areas for different types of data and due to this is prepared the risk map for these areas. Due to the findings the specific measures are designed to mitigate the risks for certain fields of work with data and information. The first part explains the basic concepts and definitions of words data, information and knowledge. The next section discusses the historical context of the mapped datastorage and handling of data in paper and electronic form, including the development of information systemsand technologies. Further are described the possible threats by varius effects on these data. Another chapter focuseson describing the current state ofwork with data and description oftechnologies used to it at the Fire and Rescue Service. Afterwards is elaborated an organizational structure focused on work with data. In following part the risk map is prepared for each area and proposesseveral solutions and particular measures to reducethe greatest of the resultingrisks. The benefit of this work is the implementation of several specific solutions to eliminate and reduce the threat of risks when working with dataat Fire and Rescue Service of South Bohemia Region, and several otherproposal measures and stepsfor additional security and data protection.

The aim of the diploma thesis is to assess contamination by chemical substances of selected operating premises at the FRS stations of the Pardubice Region. Elevated contamination by dangerous dangerous chemical substances of the mentioned premises can be results of many factors, from technical to organisational ones, and as a final consequence of this, it may influence firefighters´ health negatively. The theoretical part of the thesis presents basic information about the organisation, duties and securing the operability of chemical and technical services material equipment. Furthermore, knowledge of possible risks of contamination of material equipment and about inspections of the chemicals in operating environment are presented. In the survey part, air contamination of 13 selected areas is assessed during everyday operations and once in an intentionally contaminated area. As the measuring procedure in all the selected areas, air sampling through adsorption tube with Tenax sorbent was used. Specifying the chemical substances in the samples is implemented by the means of a thermodesorption equipment and a gas chromatograph with a mass spectrometer. Furthermore, sampling in sample bags with following analysis by the means of infrared spectroscopy is implemented in contaminated areas. There are 42 air sampling in Tenax adsorption tubes and 2 air sampling in sample bags implemented altogether. Numbers of volatile organic substances is identified in the surveyed areas, most of them benzene and toluene. From identified inorganic gases hydrogen sulfide is discovered in one case, which concentration exceeded strongly the hygienic standards set by the Czech legislation. The identified results not only can influence securing the operability of material equipment but also contribute to a general reduction of firefighters´ exposure to dangerous chemical substances.

From the sociological research realized in last years we can learn many interesting facts. We can find out what are currently the prestigious profession and what are not, what is the socio- economic status of individuals, what is the subjective social distance to the profession and many interesting research focused on the profession, prestige of the profession and social status. Sociological research take account of the objective viewpoint and on the subjective viewpoint regarding to the demographic and economic situation in the society. Some of the named sociological researches were compared with the results of this work that was interested in the subjective perception of respondent´s social status, and how risky profession affects their health. My diploma thesis is divided into three parts. The main themes are: the company, work and state of health. The first part of the theory is focused on the concept society based on other concepts important for this thesis. The second part focuses on the theory of professions working sample of respondents to the prestige of their profession and to the international classification of employment. The last is engaged in the concepts of health, illness, health and social determinants of health. The aim of this work was to determine how the respondents perceive their subjective social status, whether the selected structure of employment (education, income, occupational position) affect the social status of the respondent and the effect on the type of profession declared subjective health. The work set up three research questions, which copied the contents of its objectives: ? What is the respondent´s subjective social status? ? Do the chosen structures of employment have any influence on the social status of the respondent? ? Do the exercised profession has any influence on the subjective declarated heslth? Becouse of the set aims, I used the form f qualitative research. To collect data I used research method and its associated questioning research structured interview technique. The research group consisted of eight respondents from the staff of the Czech Police, Fire and Rescue Service of Czech Republic, Ambulance Service and the miners working in uranium mines with differentiation according to age. The work could serve to expand awareness of the different professions working. It may also serve as inspiration for further research.