Responding to an emergency alarm poses a significant risk to firefighters’ health and safety, particularly
to cardiovascular health, physical and psychological stress, and fatigue. These risks have been largely categorised
for salaried firefighters working ‘on station’. Less is known about the factors that contribute to
these risks for the vast number of non-salaried personnel who serve in retained roles, often deploying
from home. The present study investigated the alarm response procedure for Australian metropolitan fire
fighters, identifying common and divergent sources of risk for salaried and retained staff. There were significant
differences in procedure between the two workgroups and this resulted in differences in risk profile
between groups. Sleep and fatigue, actual response to the alarm stimulus, work-life balance and
trauma emerged as sources of risk experienced differently by salaried and retained firefighters. Key findings
included reports of fatigue in both groups, but particularly in the case of retained firefighters who
manage primary employment as well as their retained position. This also translated into a poor sense
of work-life balance. Both groups reported light sleep, insufficient sleep or fragmented sleep as a result
of alarm response. In the case of salaried firefighters, this was associated with being woken on station
when other appliances are called. There were risks from physical and psychological responses to the
alarm stimulus, and reports of sleep inertia when driving soon after waking. The findings of this study
highlight the common and divergent risks for these workgroups, and could be used in the ongoing management
of firefighters’ health and safety.