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.
Recommended Citation
Gushee, P. J. (2025). WHAT WENT RIGHT AND WHAT WENT WRONG: A MULTIPLE CASE STUDY OF FIREFIGHTERS SURVIVING LIFE-THREATENING SITUATIONS. [Doctoral capstone abstract, Southeastern University]. FireScholars. https://firescholars.seu.edu/dsl-abstracts/26