Investigating team collaboration in the fire department of New York using transcripts from September 11, 2001

Abstract

On September 11, 2001, more than one thousand people responded to aid in rescue efforts at the World Trade Center in New York City, mobilizing the largest rescue operation in the city's history. The collaborative teamwork demonstrated in this response is recorded in the radio transcripts between responding units and the Manhattan Dispatcher. The goal of this thesis is to use these transcripts to provide a real world example to validate the Structural Model of Team Collaboration, sponsored by the Office of Naval Research. This model focuses on individual cognitive processes during collaboration with the goal of understanding how individuals work together towards making a decision. This thesis also investigates the effects of loss of situational awareness and adherence to standard operating procedure as an indicator of efficient radio communication. Efficient radio communication expedites the process of moving the team towards their ultimate goal; on September 11, 2001, that goal was to rescue the thousands of civilians trapped in the Twin Towers. This thesis uses the Structural Model of Team Collaboration to help the Fire Department of New York understand how it works together as a team, and offer suggested improvements as necessary.