Characterising Voluntary Emergency Responders: Report of a Pilot Study

Abstract

Volunteers have long played an important role in emergency response operations world wide. While some research has focused on the stressors faced by professional emergency managers, little attention has been given to the situation of the volunteer. This pilot study reports preliminary data from a larger study of volunteers in New South Wales. These data help us to define the type of person who volunteers, the context of organizational factors that impinge upon them, the types of stresses they experience, and the nature of coping mechanisms they have evolved.