Lived through the flames: Stories of resilience among fire survivors in rural areas

Abstract

This study explored the resilience stories of rural residential fire survivors in Iloilo through a narrative inquiry approach. The study also explored the narrative structure, tone, and genre of the narratives. A sample of three respondents was purposefully selected through a screening procedure. The participants had to be active residents of rural districts of Iloilo, experienced a fire incident, aged 25 and above, had stable and safe living conditions, had the fire incident occur at least five years prior to 2023, had been conversational, and strongly agreed that they were resilient. The study used the "Telling" and the "Told" by Mishler, McAdam’s narrative tone, Gergen and Gergen’s narrative structure, and Frye’s narrative genre classification, and thematic analysis by Braun and Clarke for interpretating, coding, and categorizing data for narrative themes. Preliminary investigation included screening based on demographics and obtaining informed consent. Researchers conducted face-to-face interviews, guided by open-ended questions, and analyzed the data using QDA Miner Lite software. The study revealed diverse narrative structures, tones, and genres, reflecting the richness and complexity of resilience experiences. Overall, the stories followed the progressive structure, optimistic tone, and romantic genre. Thematic analysis of three interviews revealed core narratives and themes, indicating that resilience stories were worth sharing and that survival journeys varied, influenced by individual and contextual factors. Further results revealed five core themes termed stories of rural roots, stories of inexpressible pain, stories of inside warmth, stories of anchored strength, and stories of aspiration.