ABSTRACT
The consideration of possible worst case scenarios (WCS) is critical in the planning and anticipation that are required for effective decision making when managing an emergency event. This chapter describes a programme of research that explored the characteristics of expert decision making in an emergency management setting and identifies the key barriers that can interfere with long-term planning and consideration of WCSs. This chapter explores the role of WCSs in real-world decision making. The integrated findings of all three studies provides insight into the potential barriers to WCS thinking, suggests potential methods for improving WCS thinking, and leads to the development of practical recommendations for fire agencies. The practical implications of this chapter indicates potential areas for improvement in fire agency practice and identifies methods that will develop WCS thinking in a range of emergency service organisations (for example, police, flood management or urban fire agencies) and other real-world domains (for example, military command and control, and aviation).
