Halina Tomaszewska: Location-dependent coordination: Fire-fighting and rescue operations in the Copenhagen Fire Department, Master Thesis in Danish [Lokalitetsafhængig koordination: Brand- og redningsopgaver i Københavns Brandvæsen], IT University of Copenhagen, 2003.
This thesis investigates the coordinative practices used by actors facing different contingencies as concerned with fire and rescue services at the Fire Department in Copenhagen. Focusing on the different work practices, strategies and artefacts used by actors in different work settings, e.g. different localities such as the 112 call centre / control room and the fire and rescue team in the field, I discuss the different possibilities of supporting the cooperative practices with digital technology. In particular how to relieve the radio communication as the activities in the field and between the field and the control room are mainly coordinated through this type op media. In addition to the discussion of supporting the coordinative practices with digital technology, I argue that the importance of physical properties of the artefacts – paper versus digital – and their affordances varies considerably according to different localities and the context of use.
Motivated by the case of The London Ambulance Service, I argue that it is inexpedient to automate the processes concerned the fire and rescue services, e.g. diagnosing the emergency situation, locating the site, despatching vehicles and navigating to the site, because the human factor plays a crucial role when dealing with tasks like that.