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Coordination in Urban Firefighting: A Critical Incident Analysis

Fern, Lisa C.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1206029951

Abstract Details

2008, Master of Science, Ohio State University, Industrial and Systems Engineering.
This paper describes a critical incident analysis as part of a larger cognitive task analysis to examine coordination and decision making in urban firefighting teams. Previous research indicates that firefighter decision strategies employ a pattern-matching technique that allows them to choose the first workable option based on similar previous experiences. This research however, does not capture decision making in teams where decisions are distributed across interdependent groups and individuals. The current study employs a critical incident analysis to investigate the role of coordination in emergency response operations. The findings revealed a flow of activity in fire incidents that exhibit five phases of activity, coordination and decision-making: alert, initial entry, re-planning, emergency and resolution. Of the four cases analyzed, two exhibited all five and two lacked the emergency phase. The occurrence of coordination breakdowns in the emergency phase suggests the importance of designing systems to support coordination in distributed teams.
Professor David D. Woods (Advisor)
Emily Patterson, PhD (Committee Member)
MAJ Stoney Trent, PhD (Committee Member)
89 p.
firefighting; cognitive task analysis; critical incident analysis; coordination; decision-making; cognitive systems engineering

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Fern, L. C. (2008). Coordination in Urban Firefighting: A Critical Incident Analysis [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1206029951

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Fern, Lisa. Coordination in Urban Firefighting: A Critical Incident Analysis. 2008. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1206029951.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Fern, Lisa. "Coordination in Urban Firefighting: A Critical Incident Analysis." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2008. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1206029951

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1206029951
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© 2008, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.