Decision Making Within and Outside Standard Operating Procedures: Paradoxical Use of Operational Discretion in...

Area of Science:

• Emergency response decision-making
• Occupational stress and performance

Background:

• UK firefighters use standard operating procedures (SOPs) for routine incidents and operational discretion (OD) for high-risk situations.
• Current understanding of how SOPs and OD are used by firefighters, especially under stress, is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the interplay between acute stress and the use of standard operating procedures (SOPs) versus operational discretion (OD) by UK firefighter incident commanders.
• To evaluate adherence to operational guidance regarding SOPs and OD in simulated emergency scenarios.

Main Methods:

• 43 incident commanders (ICs) participated in simulated emergency incidents designed to elicit either SOP use or OD.
• IC behavior was video-recorded and coded for SOP or OD use.
• Acute stress levels were measured using both blood-based biomarkers and self-report questionnaires.

Main Results:

• ICs were less likely to selectively use OD when it was licensed compared to when SOP use was appropriate.
• The type of incident (SOP-required vs. OD-licensed) significantly impacted stress levels, with OD-licensed incidents inducing higher acute stress.
• Incident commander level did not influence the observed patterns of SOP/OD use or stress response.

Conclusions:

• Firefighter incident commanders did not consistently adhere to prescribed operational guidance for SOP and OD use in simulated emergencies.
• Findings indicate a need to enhance firefighter training in both SOPs and OD, integrating personal resilience training to better manage stress and improve decision-making effectiveness.