Development and Validation of the IoT-FiER Instrument for Fire Emergency Response Management

This study aims to develop and validate the IoT-FiER instrument to assess the acceptance and adoption of IoT technology in fire emergency response management. The focus is on ensuring the instrument's content validity for use by Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) firefighters. The instrument was developed using a systematic literature review (SLR) to identify critical elements and sub-constructs related to IoT adoption. A total of 102 items were created and validated through expert judgment using the Content Validity Index (CVI). Nine domain experts, including fire officers, engineering professionals, and academicians, rated the relevance of the items. The I-CVI, S-CVI/UA, and S-CVI/Ave were quantified to determine content validity. The validation process demonstrated high content validity, with I-CVI values ranging from 0.11 to 1. The scale-level content validity index (S-CVI/Ave) achieved 0.80, while the universal agreement (S-CVI/UA) was 0.78. A total of 21 items were removed due to low relevance ratings, ensuring the refined instrument aligns with domain-specific constructs. This study focuses on content validity; future research should examine reliability, face validity, and criterion validity to ensure the robustness of the IoT-FiER instrument. The IoT-FiER instrument provides a validated tool for evaluating IoT adoption readiness within fire safety management. It can assist policymakers and practitioners in improving fire emergency responses through IoT integration. This study contributes a systematically validated instrument that bridges theoretical frameworks and practical applications of IoT in fire safety, specifically for emergency management in Malaysia.