Responding to emergencies

Dr Yunhe Tong and Dr Anne Templeton share their latest research on enhancing public communication approaches in evacuations

Effective disaster preparedness can significantly reduce the risk of injury or loss of life during emergencies such as fires, floods, or other disasters. Timely evacuations are particularly essential for public safety as they help relocate affected individuals to safer areas. However, if evacuation instructions are either poorly communicated (e.g. due to faulty equipment) or the content itself is ambiguous (e.g. giving vague information about the location of the incident), the public may seek information from other sources. This can happen when they lack clear guidance on the best way to respond. For example, during cinema evacuations, individuals who did not receive clear instructions often delayed evacuating and instead looked to others for cues on whether to act or stay seated1.

Even when clear evacuation instructions are provided, public adherence to them can be low for a range of reasons. During Hurricane Ike in 2008, emergency authorities in Texas, USA, issued a “leave or perish” warning, stating that “persons not heeding evacuation orders in single-family or one- or two-story homes will face certain death.” Despite this urgent communication, around 30% of the population in the affected areas did not evacuate, leaving approximately 17,000 people in potential danger. One reason was that some residents simply did not trust the information sources about the danger posed by the storm2.

This illustrates a key challenge in emergency management: even when the risks are plainly communicated, a significant portion of the public may still choose not to follow evacuation instructions due to mistrust of the information provider. Thus, understanding and addressing the factors that influence public adherence to evacuation instructions is crucial for improving the effectiveness of emergency responses and ensuring safer evacuation outcomes.

Public perception of first responders

One of the most critical factors in whether the public follows evacuation instructions is their perception of the information provider—often first responders such as firefighters or emergency medical personnel. In emergencies, people from these organisations are usually seen as authorities. However, the extent to which their instructions are followed can vary significantly due to several factors.

In high-rise buildings, for example, residents were more likely to follow guidance from firefighters when they believed the firefighters were acting in the interests of the residents and working on their behalf. This trust was related to how willing residents were to follow the guidance given by firefighters about either evacuating or staying in place3.

Research also shows that when the public perceives the information provider as having higher authority, adherence to evacuation instructions tends to increase. People were more likely to follow evacuation instructions when they believed the instructions came from a credible, authoritative source4, whether it was an official account or a well-regarded public figure5.

In addition, the amount of information first responders share can significantly influence public adherence. In mass decontaminations, when responders gave detailed information about the actions they were taking and why certain decontamination actions were required, it fostered a stronger sense of the public being in the same group as the first responders. As a result, the public perceived them as more legitimate which, in turn, led to higher adherence to instructions6.

Three communication approaches

In our project, we interviewed staff in fire and rescue services and ambulance services from Scotland and England to understand the communication approaches they used during evacuations. We found that these approaches can be broadly categorised into three types: directive, interpersonal, and collaborative communication.

  1. Directive approach: This approach involves providing short and direct instruction to guide public response, often using language such as “get out, just move”.

  2. Interpersonal approach: In this approach, first responders encourage the public to take action that supports the individual responder, using language such as “this is what I need you to do”.

  3. Collaborative approach: The collaborative approach seeks to establish teamwork between the public and first responders via shared tasks, using collective phrases such as “let us see what we are going to do here”.

We used experiments to evaluate how these three communication approaches affect how the public view firefighters giving instructions, and ultimately their adherence to evacuation instructions. To do this, we used an online imagined evacuation study and a virtual reality (VR) study. We predicted that the collaborative approach, which emphasises ’we’ language, would foster a stronger sense of the public feeling part of the same group as first responders, potentially increasing how well they followed the evacuation instructions.

Imagined evacuation study

In the online study, participants were told that they were going to take part in health and safety training scenarios. In fact, they were shown pictures of the training building and then told that they saw a fire engine and firefighters outside. They then encountered a firefighter who provided evacuation instructions telling them to evacuate to an assembly point taking a particular route, with the instructions given using one of the three communication approaches.

In the directive approach, participants were told that they “must evacuate” to the assembly point. In the interpersonal approach, they were told “I need you to evacuate” to the assembly point. In the collaborative approach, they were told “work together with me” and evacuate to the assembly point. After receiving the instructions, participants rated their perceptions of the firefighter, including their trust in the firefighter to handle the situation appropriately, how fairly they felt treated by the firefighter, their sense of being part of the same group as the firefighter, and their willingness to follow the advised evacuation route.

VR study

The VR study used a different environment under the guise of rating their experience of hotel accommodation. Participants were placed in a virtual high-rise hotel and navigated to their room. After entering a room, a fire alarm sounded followed by evacuation instructions given by a firefighter asking them to stay in place. Similar to the online study, the instructions were given using either the directive, interpersonal, or collaborative approach. Participants could navigate the virtual hotel and decide whether to stay in the room as advised or exit. We assessed participants’ adherence to the evacuation instructions based on their behaviours and again measured their perceptions of the firefighter using surveys.

Key findings

Our findings suggest that, compared to the interpersonal and directive communication approaches, the collaborative approach tended to foster a stronger sense of the public being in the same group with the firefighter. Importantly, this feeling of being more part of a group with the firefighter was associated with higher trust in the firefighter to handle the situation and how fairly they felt treated by the firefighter. In turn, these perceptions were related to participants’ adherence to the firefighter’s instructions, both when they were asked to follow a specific route or remain in place.

Conclusions and recommendations

How the public perceives first responders delivering evacuation instructions significantly influences the public’s response during emergencies. Our findings suggest that tailoring communication approaches to foster a sense of the public being in the same group as the firefighter can improve public adherence to evacuation instructions.

While the communication approach does not directly determine adherence, the collaborative approach helps to strengthen the public’s sense of being part of the same group as the firefighter. This builds increased trust in the firefighter and how fairly they felt treated. This significantly improves the likelihood that the public will comply with evacuation instructions.

We measured the effects of the collaborative communication approach across two types of adherence: following a suggested evacuation route and staying in place. Our results show that the collaborative approach is consistently more effective across both scenarios, highlighting its potential benefits for different types of evacuation situations.

Our research also highlights the practical relevance of incorporating social psychological insights into emergency communication approaches. By demonstrating the effectiveness of the collaborative approach in fostering public adherence to evacuation instructions, we recommend that emergency guidelines prioritise collaborative approaches that emphasise shared tasks and collective language. Such an approach can enhance public adherence in diverse emergency scenarios, making it a valuable tool for first responders and emergency planners aiming to improve emergency management and public safety.

References

  1. Van der Wal, C. N., Robinson, M. A., de Bruin, W. B., & Gwynne, S. (2021). Evacuation behaviours and emergency communications: An analysis of real-world incident videos. Safety Science, 136, 105121. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S092575352030518X

  2. Baer, R. D., Weller, S. C., & Roberts, C. (2019). The role of regional cultural values in decisions about hurricane evacuation. Human Organization, 78(2), 133-146. https://doi.org/10.17730/0018-7259.78.2.133

  3. Templeton, A., Nash, C., Lewis, L., Gwynne, S., & Spearpoint, M. (2023). Information sharing and support among residents in response to fire incidents in high-rise residential buildings. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 92, 103713. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2023.103713

  4. Ploran, E. J., Trasciatti, M. A., & Farmer, E. C. (2018). Efficacy and authority of the message sender during emergency evacuations: A mixed methods study. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 46(3), 291-322. https://doi.org/10.1080/00909882.2018.1464659

  5. Liu, B. F., Fraustino, J. D., & Jin, Y. (2016). Social media use during disasters: How information form and source influence intended behavioural responses. Communication Research, 43(5), 626-646. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650214565917

  6. Carter, H., Drury, J., Amlot, R., Rubin, J., & Williams, R. (2014). Effective responder communication improves efficiency and psychological outcomes in a mass decontamination field experiment: Implications for public behaviour in the event of a chemical incident. PLoS One, 9(3), e89846. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0089846

Further reading

For more information on the impact of communication approaches on evacuation behaviour, readers can explore the works cited in this article, as well as ongoing research related to first responder communication during emergencies.

  • Nilsson, D., & Johansson, A. (2009). Social influence during the initial phase of a fire evacuation—Analysis of evacuation experiments in a cinema theatre. Fire Safety Journal, 44(1), 71-79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.firesaf.2008.03.008

  • Weller, S. C., Baer, R., & Prochaska, J. (2016). Should I stay or should I go? Response to the Hurricane Ike evacuation order on the Texas Gulf Coast. Natural Hazards Review, 17(3), 04016003. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)NH.1527-6996.0000217

  • Xu, D., Zhou, W., Deng, X., Ma, Z., Yong, Z., & Qin, C. (2020). Information credibility, disaster risk perception and evacuation willingness of rural households in China. Natural Hazards, 103, 2865-2882. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-020-04106-5

Funding

The interviews with firefighters, the survey study, and the VR study were conducted as part of the UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship project ‘Simulating the impact of first responder communication strategies on public adherence in emergencies. You can find out more about this work by visiting the project website here.

This research was conducted as part of the UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship project, which focuses on simulating the impact of first responder communication strategies on public adherence in emergencies. Dr Anne Templeton and Dr Yunhe Tong lead this research at the University of Edinburgh.

Fire & Risk Management is the UK’s market leading fire safety journal, published 10 times a year, and is available exclusively to FPA members in digital and print format depending on your requirements. You can find out more about our membership scheme here.

Dr Yunhe Tong is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Social Psychology at the University of Edinburgh and Dr Anne Templeton is a Senior Lecturer in Social Psychology at the University of Edinburgh