Which term refers to actions to reduce or eliminate risks before they occur?

• A. Risk Avoidance
• B. Behavioral hazards
• C. Mitigation
• D. Logistics

Answer: (C)

Mitigation is the process of taking actions to reduce or eliminate risks before they occur. It involves identifying hazards, assessing how big the risk is, and putting controls in place so exposure is lowered or the impact is lessened if a hazard materializes. In fire service practice, this includes engineering measures like safeguards in buildings, administrative controls such as training and pre-incident planning, and ensuring equipment and procedures are ready to prevent or lessen harm. The aim is to prevent problems or lessen their consequences before they happen, rather than waiting to react after an incident. Risk avoidance is about choosing not to engage in activities that create risk, which is a narrower approach than the broader mitigation process; behavioral hazards and logistics refer to human factors and the movement of resources, not the overarching risk-reduction actions themselves.