title: The importance of the time factor in fire and rescue service operations in Sweden.
abstract: The aim of the paper is to measure the benefits and costs for the society if the fire and rescue service is delayed by 5 and 10 min respectively. A 5 min longer turn-out time is often the difference between a full-time and a voluntary crew. A 10 min difference may represent what happens if a voluntary crew on the outskirts of the municipality is closed down and their services are taken over by the centrally located full-time staff. In Sweden a full-time staff costs USD 180,000 more per year and man on duty. When it comes to the costs of a longer turn-out time three items dominates: fires in buildings; road transport accidents; and drowning cases. These three account for 38% of the alarms but 97% of the damage increase if the rescue operation is delayed, whether it is for 5 or 10 min. For all these three items we have carried out calculations based on our own empirical material. To be allowed to fight fires using breathing apparatus Swedish legislation requires a minimum crew of five. For a municipality in Sweden with the average number and distribution of alarms a full time crew of five is not economically justifiable until it reaches a population of 30,000.
authors.affiliation: Department of Economics, University of Karlstad, Sweden.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mattsson
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Juås
mesh_terms: D000059:Accidents; D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D005390:Fires; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011890:Railroads; D018635:Rescue Work; D013548:Sweden; D013997:Time Factors