Firefighting: Challenges of Smart PPE

Abstract

In this study our goal is to understand how leadership behavior affects the well-being of firefighter teams operating under conditions of a simulated rural fire. A virtual reality scenario was developed to replicate a large rural fire. We studied 20 firefighter teams, involved in this scenario, with different leader behaviors, to identify the momentary responses of the team, understand the factors that underlie these responses, and test the moderating role of leader behavior. Our results show that directive leadership style is associated with reduced levels of stress and anxiety in team members and empowering leadership style did not have a significant effect on their levels of stress and anxiety. Although teams with directive leaders started performing well more quickly, their performance plateaued, whereas the emergent cognition and improved learning and coordination capabilities of empowered teams allowed them to improve over time. For teams with short-term or emergent engagements and teams facing emergency situations, such as firefighter teams, a directive style may be most appropriate, as teams must be able to immediately perform at a high level and cannot afford the performance delays learning errors associated with empowered teams. In emergency situations, such as rural fires, studies are scarce and it is not possible to conclude the advantages of these empowering styles.