The Effectiveness of Firefighter Personnel in Relation to Workload and Personnel Readiness

Firefighting is a safety-critical public service in which personnel must sustain effective performance under fluctuating task demands while remaining ready for rapidly changing emergencies. This study examines workload and emergency preparedness as predictors of task effectiveness among Fire Department personnel in Solok City, Indonesia. A quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted using the complete population of 80 personnel (29 civil servants and 51 non-permanent employees). Data were collected with a 30-item, five-point Likert questionnaire covering workload, emergency preparedness, and task effectiveness, and were analyzed using instrument validity and reliability tests, multiple linear regression, coefficient of determination, t tests, and an F test in SPSS 26. All instrument items exceeded the reported critical correlation value, and Cronbach's alpha coefficients ranged from 0.729 to 0.886. The regression model explained 52.8% of the variance in task effectiveness (R = 0.726; R² = 0.528). Workload was a significant positive predictor (B = 0.219, beta = 0.270, t = 2.829, p = 0.006), while emergency preparedness showed a stronger positive association (B = 0.612, beta = 0.537, t = 5.624, p < 0.001). The model was significant overall (F(2,77) = 43.032, p < 0.001). The findings indicate that task effectiveness is associated with both the way workload is managed and the level of personnel preparedness, with preparedness emerging as the stronger predictor. Operational priorities should therefore combine proportionate workload allocation with recurrent training, equipment readiness, physical and mental preparedness, and inter-team coordination.