Date of Award

Summer 2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Strategic Leadership (DSL)

Department

Organizational Leadership

First Advisor

Dr. Jennifer Carter

Second Advisor

Dr. Debra J. Dean

Third Advisor

Dr. Joshua D. Henson

Abstract

The present study explored the lived experiences of firefighters who survived life-threatening situations in burning buildings, examining how these experiences unfolded and the leadership structures that shaped those experiences. Employing A. P. Giorgi and Giorgi’s (2003) scientific phenomenological analysis, the present study identified the general structure of the firefighter survival experience, which was comprised of 11 constituents, highlighting survival as a dynamic, identity-bound process shaped by adaptive behaviors, internalized beliefs, and evolving situation-specific conditions. Leadership was found to operate at the systems, organizational, and group levels, enabling or constraining firefighter readiness, adaptation, and recovery. By integrating Safety-I and Safety-II perspectives with functional leadership theory, the present study reframes firefighter safety and survival as a relational, emergent, and context-dependent phenomenon instead of a compliance-based outcome. The findings inform leadership, training, and the Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program fatality investigations by emphasizing moral responsibility, interpretive capacity, and the value of subjective experience. The present study provides a foundation for enhancing firefighter safety and survival, reducing fatalities, and advancing more meaningful safety recommendations and practices.


Included in

Leadership Commons

Share

COinS