Effective strategies in emergencies: First responders' views on communicating and coordinating with the public

Facilitating safe response in emergencies involves effective coordination between professional first responders and members of the public. However, incidents such as the Manchester Arena attack have highlighted a need to improve coordination between these groups.
As part of our UKRI-funded project 'Simulating the impact of first responder communication strategies on citizen adherence in emergencies', we conducted 18 in-depth individual interviews with operational staff in fire and rescue services and ambulance services across Scotland and England. We identified their views on the most and least effective ways to communicate with members of the public when asking them to follow instructions in emergencies. We explored the factors staff felt influenced how members of the public reacted to them in emergencies, why staff took specific approaches to communicating with the public in emergencies, and key challenges faced in emergencies.