Operational risk is linked to the domain of the national rescue and firefighting system’s operations, from its launch to the present day. The objective of the paper was to specify relations between operational risk and changes in the above mentioned domain. It was proven that the risk concerns hazards having their origin in the interior of the system, on an interface between the system interior and external environment and in the environment. Those threats defined the adaptation policy of the system and, consequently, the gradual expansion of the domain of activities performed within the national rescue and firefighting system. This has become particularly apparent in relation to emergency medical response, as well as rescue operations that involve radiation agents and hazardous biological agents. The results of the conducted research may be used to assess operational risks in relation to other operational systems of the Polish national security system, analyse the policy of their formation and predict changes related to contemporary challenges of the Polish national security (including the armed conflict in Ukraine).