FOLIA MONTANA SUMMER 07 - Mount Saint Vincent University

SIMergency to
the Rescue
It seems more and more we hear stories
of large-scale emergencies that involve a
multi-tiered response. Training the men
and women who face the daunting task of
combating these disasters can be
complicated. And more often than not,
it’s the decision-making process that can
mean the difference.
Dr. Andrew Manning, Associate Professor
of Education and head of the Technology
Learning Research Centre at MSVU, has
created a simulation designed to help
firefighters and paramedics experience
what it is like to assume the role of
incident or medical commander and to
learn from that experience. This is the
SIMergency Project. The software
simulation was developed by Manning
and his team, with input from the City of
Brampton, Ontario’s Fire and Emergency
Services and Nova Scotia’s Emergency
Medical Care.
Responders engage in a real-world
situation where their decision-making
skills are continuously tested. Manning
based his research on a subject of
particular interest to him – social
learning.
“People don’t just learn from books, they
learn from observing and working with
others,” he says. “I wanted to see how we
can learn from others in a more
systematic way.”
The current prototype places firefighters
and paramedics at the scene of a fire
burning through a three-storey rooming
house. The software is reactive to the
decisions that the incident commander
makes and allows for input that changes
the way the fire progresses through the
house. “You can change the direction of
the wind, or change the amount and
type of flammable material in the room,”
he explains.
SIMergency was awarded $2.1 million
under ACOA’s Atlantic Innovation Fund.
The Fund is designed to strengthen
Atlantic Canada’s economy by increasing
the region’s capacity to carry out leadingedge
R&D that contributes directly to the
development of new technology-based
economic activity.
The project’s technology partners are
Sierra Systems and the New Brunswick
Community College – Bathurst.
The software has the potential to expand
into simulations of many other complex
catastrophes, further enhancing the skills
of those involved.
“The fact that this can be online allows
participants to be anywhere. Then, they
can debrief on what went well and what
can be improved,” says Manning.
The prototype of SIMergency debuted last
August at the Fire Rescue Canada Training
and Education Symposium in Halifax. Fire
chiefs, firefighters and first responders
from across the country provided valuable
and overwhelmingly positive feedback to
the researchers.
A video about the simulation can be
viewed on YouTube (www.youtube.com).
Continued....
FEATURE STORY
Dr. Andrew Manning, Associate Professor of Education and head of the Technology Learning Research Centre at MSVU
Folia Montana 9