Citation

Tveit KS, Munkvold BE, Radianti J. Int. J. Emerg. Manage. 2021; 17(2): 154-176.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Inderscience Publishers)

DOI

10.1504/IJEM.2021.122930

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Emergency response operations are usually initiated by emergency calls from lay bystanders at the incident scene, providing information that is vital for assessing the situation. While the communication is mainly verbal, the use of live video systems for providing real-time visual information is increasingly being focused. This study presents an analysis of work practices in command and control centres (CCC) in Norway and documents experiences from early-stage adoption and use of a live video system. Based on interviews with emergency dispatchers, our study contributes knowledge on how this new source of information is incorporated in the emergency response decision process in the CCCs. The results show how the use of live video can enhance situational awareness in multi-agency operations, especially in unclear situations. However, the benefits of using video need to be balanced against the additional manual operations required, which may cause delays in time-critical situations.

Keywords: CCC; command and control centres; live video support; information collection; situational awareness; NPT; normalisation process theory; decision-making; emergency management; dual-process theories.

Language: en