- Author
- Keating, J. P. | Loftus, E. L.
- Title
- Post Fire Interviews: Development and Field Validation of the Behavioral Sequence Interview Technique. Final Report.
- Coporate
- University of Washington, Seattle, WA
- Sponsor
- National Bureau of Standards, Washington, DC
- Report
- NBS GCR 84-477, October 1984, 91 p.
- Distribution
- Available from National Technical Information Service
- Contract
- NB80NADA1053
- Keywords
- building fires | egress | evacuation | eye witness testimony | fire investigations | home fires | human behavior | interviewing
- Abstract
- This report describes the development and field-validation of a research interview instrument which is used for recording how people behave/act after the outbreak of a residential fire. In the first phase of the interview, the witness is invited to recount his story of the fire, free from interference or questions. During the second phase, the witness and interviewer cooperatively generate a comprehensive account of the witness' actions, the reasons for each action, and the situational cue during the fire using a standardized format. During its development, the behavioral sequence technique was used successfully to interview 357 respondents in Seattle and New York City. Responses were coded, quantified and analyzed using a modification of the Breaux technique for developing a graphical representation of response sequences. Statistics regarding the sample of fires and of interviewees are presented.