Help is on the way: Effects of pre-response information and planning on communication and performance of simulated firefighting teams

Abstract

This research aims to examine the effects of pre-response information and pre-response planning on a simulated firefighting team’s communication and performance outcomes. An effective emergency response (e.g., fire) inevitably depends on the information provided to a firefighting team before the response and planning for goals, roles, and actions. However, the effects of the pre-response information and pre-response planning activity before an emergency response have not been thoroughly investigated. A 2*2 between-subject experiment is designed to investigate how the completeness of information (more complete vs. less complete) and the structuredness of planning (structured vs. unstructured) affect team communication and performance such as mission completion time, perceived workload, self- efficacy and team trust. Work is in progress to recruit participants and collect data. We expect that findings would address the knowledge gaps regarding what pre-response information and planning activities make firefighting teams more effective in response to hazardous conditions.