- Author
- Herz, E. | Edelman, P. | Bickman, L.
- Title
- Impact of Fire Emergency Training on Knowledge of Appropriate Behavior in Fires. Final Report.
- Coporate
- Loyola Univ., Chicago, IL
- Sponsor
- National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, MD Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Washington, DC
- Report
- NBS GCR 78-137, January 1978, 49 p.
- Distribution
- Available from National Technical Information Service
- Contract
- GRANT-69015
- Keywords
- decision making | egress | emergencies | escape | fire dirlls | fire education | fires | human behavior | human performance | life safety | nursing homes
- Abstract
- A project was undertaken to determine whether training effectively augmented nursing home staff knowledge of a fire emergency plan, and to assess attitudes and general knowledge of appropriate behavior in fire. Staff members of a nursing home in Evanston, Illinois were divided into two groups: (1) those who attended a lecture (training session) concerning the first page of the institution's fire emergency plan, and (2) those who did not attend the lecture. All staff members in the sample completed a questionnaire designed to assess attitudes toward training and general knowledge of appropriate fire behavior. Items were also included to assess the impact of training on specific knowledge of the fire emergency plan. Results indicated that (1) most respondents were unfamiliar with some aspects of the institution's plan, (2) in some cases, the plan was found to be inadequate, incomplete and unclear, (3) staff members held positive attitudes toward training and were somewhat knowledgeable about appropirate behavior in fire, and (4) the lecture training method adequately conveyed certain types of information to staff members.