Risk Perception, Safety Behavior and Work Accidents: Assessment and Relations in a Sample of Portuguese Firefighters

The study aims to analyze risk perception, through the psychometric paradigm, and to identify the influencing sociodemographic factors, in a sample of Portuguese firefighters. This is an exploratory, cross-sectional study, involving an online questionnaire, in a convenience sample of (n = 59) firefighters from corporations in two Portuguese cities. The firefighters’ risk perception in the sample is high (mean 8.61). Considering the psychometric paradigm dimensions, fear of suffering damage, personal vulnerability, severity of injury or disease, catastrophic potential and long-term consequences are those that influence risk perception in the sample. Firefighters consider to be exposed to a high level, to ergonomic risks, night shifts, chemical agents, thermal stress, stress, biological risks, risk of burn and explosion. Firefighters with < 5 years in service presented the lowest mean of risk perception (p-value = 0.022), but the sociodemographic variables, type of professional bond or the number of accidents suffered presented no significant difference (p-value > 0.05). To evaluate the self-reported adoption of safety behavior, the respondents classified their agreement with statements related to: the compliance with safety rules and procedures, the use of PPE, the attitude towards safety training and work pressure. It was concluded that the respondents who have a higher risk perception tend to adopt safety behaviors, thus confirming the importance of risk perception to implement targeted and effective strategies in safety training. Firefighters in the sample with fewer years of service have a lower risk perception, so they should be considered as a priority segment for safety training.