Design and Pilot Implementation of an Occupational Safety and Health Management System for the Meritorious Fire Department of Arenillas Canton.

Abstract

In the context of rural emergency services characterized by constrained resources, the Meritorious Fire Department of Arenillas Canton grapples with a spectrum of multifaceted occupational hazards that imperil the well-being of its personnel and undermine operational efficacy, encompassing thermal stress amid forest fires, inhalation of toxic fumes coupled with agricultural contaminants, direct contact with pathogens during rescue operations, ergonomic strains from repetitive physical exertions, and burnout exacerbated by protracted volunteer shifts, wherein psychosocial disorders afflict up to 42% of cases as evidenced by Latin American studies. For this reason, this systematic literature review, enriched with institutional observation and documentary analysis of national and international sources, proposes the design and pilot implementation of an adapted Safety and Health at Work Management System, SG-SST, aligned with Executive Decree 2393 and ISO 45001:2018 standard, integrating a hybrid model based on the PDCA cycle which stands for Plan-Do-Check-Act; to identify hazards through accessible IPER matrices, deploy control hierarchies that prioritize hazard elimination alongside peer-led training initiatives, and facilitate ongoing monitoring through straightforward indicators, including incident rates and annual training hours. In conclusion, this approach not only mitigates immediate vulnerabilities in an environment with budgets below USD 50,000 and mixed staffing, but also bolsters organizational resilience and preventive culture, underscoring its normative coherence, high replicability potential in Ecuadorian rural fire departments, while underscoring the imperative for empirical validation to refine local adaptations, ultimately driving comprehensive sustainability that elevates occupational health standards, bolsters productivity, and safeguards community protection in peripheral emergency landscapes.