Improving fire department turnout times: training versus sanctions in a high public service motivation environment

Fire departments are comprised of individuals known to have high levels of public service motivation (PSM). One of the most important measures of fire personnel performance, turnout time, may be affected by managerial strategies. Turnout time measures the time elapsed from when the emergency dispatcher informs the fire unit of an emergency and when the unit leaves the fire station. In 2015, the El Paso Fire Department required fire personnel to participate in a training module focusing on the importance of emergency response and turnout time. At the conclusion of the training period, the department began enforcing a turnout time policy of 90 s, with units being required to submit paperwork concerning their response if they exceeded the 90 s requirement. We find that training and policy enforcement decrease turnout times in these high PSM employees, but policy enforcement with sanctions yields the largest decrease.