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Understanding the Economic Efficiency of Spending on Fire and Rescue Services: A Literature Review on the Causal Impacts of Fire Suppression Activities

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Abstract

Fire and Rescue Services (FRS) have generally been analysed in terms of their technical efficiency. This approach does not allow one to determine the gain or the loss for society associated to public spending in these services. There is therefore a clear need to transition from an output-based approach to an outcome-based approach in order to identify the societal benefits associated to FRS activities. The outcomes and societal benefits associated to the actions performed by FRS are complex and constitute a real obstacle to understanding the expected return on investment in these services. This article presents a systematic literature review to establish and regroup the knowledge regarding the causal impact of FRS fire suppression activities on societal outcomes with a view to using such measures for the appraisal of investments in these services.

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Funding

Indirect funding via PhD contract funded by the French Academy for Fire and Civil Protection Officers (ENSOSP).

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  1. Centre d’Etudes et de Recherche Interdisciplinaires sur la Sécurité Civile, Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Officiers de Sapeurs-Pompiers, 1070 rue du lieutenant Parayre, BP 20316, 13798, Aix-en-Provence Cedex 03, France

    David Swan

  2. Univ Lyon, Université Lumière Lyon 2, GATE UMR 5824, 69130, Ecully, France

    David Swan

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Swan, D. Understanding the Economic Efficiency of Spending on Fire and Rescue Services: A Literature Review on the Causal Impacts of Fire Suppression Activities. Fire Technol 58, 2515–2532 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10694-022-01268-5

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