Blazing Research

09/24/2014 5:22 PM

By Savannah Jones ’16

Blazing wildfires in Idaho and Montana became the latest labs for Dr. Elena Gabor, who spent the summer studying the effectiveness of communication protocols on the fires’ front lines. Gabor and four other researchers began the effort to reduce the risk of potentially deadly miscommunications during disasters.

Current practice dictates that firefighters communicate briefly on radios to avoid overcrowding lines, but little attention is paid to the effectiveness of messaging. Brief transmissions can cause confusion that leads to injury or death.

“High-reliability organizations are those organizations that cannot afford to make mistakes because the slightest error, human or technical, can lead to loss of life or accidents,” Gabor said. “Firefighters, nuclear plants, NASA, emergency rooms — those kind of organizations that conduct high-risk work cannot afford to make mistakes.”

Research like this project, which is funded through the federal Joint Fire Science Program, could lead to improved communication tools and training for radio communication during crisis.

The project was met with enthusiasm over the summer.

“From what we have talked to firefighters, they’re very excited about this,” Gabor said. “They know it’s an area that needs to be studied.”

The experience and lessons Gabor gained found their way from the smoky woods to Hilltop classrooms this semester. She explains to students through her real-life examples how a message can become distorted, minimized or added to once it goes through a chain of people.

“One of our goals in the communication department, across all six majors, is to teach our students how to research well, speak well and write well,” Gabor said. “But above all, I hope the students learn to be sensitive to language and mindful of the impact or potential impact of the messages they put out there in the world.”