Katherine Lamb, PhD1, Cecilia Hammar Wijkmark, PhD2 & Ian Greatbatch, PhD3,4
1 University of Liverpool, UK
2 University of Skövde, Sweden
3 Aston University, UK
4 University of Portsmouth, UK
Email katherine@klambassociates.com
https://doi.org/10.61618/XAFO8079
Abstract
This study examines the integration of Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Principles (JESIP) within the UK Fire and Rescue Service’s national Effective Command (EC) assessment framework. A total of 30,843 anonymised assessments conducted between April 2017 and March 2024 were analysed to evaluate the impact of JESIP-aligned behaviours on command performance. Each assessment included 72 behavioural markers across eight sections, mapped to JESIP-relevant criteria through expert consensus. Pass/fail outcomes were determined using the nationally moderated EC threshold (≥55.5% average score with no critical safety failures).
Inter-rater reliability for JESIP coding was tested on a double-rated subset (n = 48), yielding substantial agreement (Cohen’s κ = 0.74). Statistical analysis using Python (SciPy v1.13) employed Wilcoxon signed-rank tests and rank-biserial correlation (r_rb) to compare JESIP and non-JESIP behavioural scores. JESIP-aligned criteria consistently produced higher section medians (mean difference ≈ 1.2%) and narrower interquartile ranges, indicating more stable performance. Six of eight sections showed statistically significant differences (p < .05), with moderate effect sizes (r_rb ≈ 0.30–0.50).
These findings provide empirical support for the operational value of JESIP-aligned training and assessment, demonstrating enhanced consistency and quality in decision-making behaviours. Limitations and recommendations for future cross-agency validation are discussed.
KEY WORDS: Incident Command, JESIP, Fire and Rescue, multi-agency, emergency management, training