Firefighters face many high-risk situations, from battling fires to managing hazardous materials and medical emergencies. The inherent dangers of these scenarios are reflected in the statistics from the U.S. Fire Administration, which reported 141 on-duty firefighter fatalities in 2021. Recognizing the critical need for enhanced safety, the…

Access to dangerous goods training for firefighters in remote areas is limited for financial and logistical reasons. Virtual reality (VR) is a promising solution for this challenge as it is cost-effective, safe, and allows to simulate realistic scenarios that would be dangerous or difficult to implement in the real world. However, rigorous…

Immersive virtual reality (VR) is a technology that can be effective for procedural skills training through game-based simulations such as serious games. The current study describes the instructional design, development, and evaluation of the FSCHOOL fire preparedness serious game in a cave automatic virtual environment (CAVE-VR) for elementary…

This article explores school counselors' experiences of the 2017 Sonoma Complex wildfires. Thirty-eight school counselors completed a 20-item survey exploring impact and responses to the devastating wildfires. Results detail school counselors' insights regarding post-fire responses and the impact of the fires on students, families, and school…

College resident halls pose a threat for a catastrophic event in the case of fire, but little research has examined potential influences on students' responses to fire alarms, particularly the role of social influence in affecting their behaviors. In the current study, residence hall inhabitants reported their knowledge about fire safety, their…

Campus security and safety is an important feature of postsecondary education. The Department of Education is committed to assisting schools in providing students nationwide a safe environment in which to learn and to keep students, parents and employees well informed about campus security. These goals were advanced by the Crime Awareness and…