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Since the first case of COVID-19 was diagnosed in Taiwan in 2020, the fire department has formulated a series of epidemic prevention actions and countermeasures. Based on crisis management and policy evaluation, the aims of this research are to explore the epidemic prevention actions and countermeasures of fire departments in Taiwan during the COVID-19 pandemic, to understand the role of firefighters in epidemic prevention work, and to assess the current state of front-line implementation. In this study, six stakeholders, including policy makers of the central and local fire departments and field firefighters, were invited to take part in in-depth interviews. It was found that: (1) firefighters are responsible for emergency medical care within the epidemic prevention system; (2) the public is generally aware of the hard work of firefighters; (3) the central government’s distribution of epidemic prevention materials is insufficient; (4) there is a lack of dedicated medical personnel and insufficient firefighting workforce; and (5) the fire department, police, medical, health, and other units of the horizontal linkage mechanism is insufficient; and (6) the psychological counseling provided by the fire departments is not effective. According to these results, this research suggests that: (1) future epidemic prevention work should be conducted by medical personnel and a special unit for epidemic prevention should be established; (2) The fire department should actively supplement the firefighting workforce and reduce non-essential duties and establish a dedicated Emergency Medical Services team and train Emergency Medical Technician-Paramedic; (3) In anticipation of possible crises, fire departments should prepare resources as soon as possible, (4) strengthen the division of powers and responsibilities and horizontal linkages of government agencies, (5) provide timely care for the mental health of firefighters, and (6) improve the distribution of epidemic prevention work incentives, self-quarantine and administrative incentives supporting measures. It is expected that this will provide a reference point for government agencies and future researchers.
Keywords:Firefighter、COVID-19、Epidemic Prevention Tasks、Crisis Management、Policy Evaluation
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