Online Supplement: Leading Through the Fire and Beyond: A Competency Model for Platoon Leaders in Fire Services

<p>This is the online supplement for a study entitled "Leading Through the Fire and Beyond: A Competency Model for Platoon Leaders in Fire Services". This study was conducted at the University of Münster, Germany, in cooperation with the State Fire Service Institute North-Rhine-Westphalia, Germany (in German: <em>Institut der Feuerwehr Nordrhein-Westfalen</em> (IdF NRW)).</p> <p>The study of this online supplement focus on the role of platoon leaders in fire services, who manage both frontline firefighting and rescue operations as well as administrative and personnel responsibilities. Existing leadership competency models often overlook this dual role. To identify the key knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs), 25 semistructured interviews using the critical incident technique were conducted with active platoon leaders. Behavioral anchors from these interviews were analyzed, resulting in 38 specific competences, later refined to a practical model of 21 competences. A subsequent survey with N = 601 firefighter leaders validated the model’s relevance. Participants also evaluated the future importance of these competences over a five-year horizon and highlighted anticipated challenges. The findings offer comprehensive insights into the complex leadership demands in high-reliability settings and provide implications for fire service guidelines, leader selection, and development processes.</p> <p>Contents of the online supplement:</p> <ul> <li>Interview guideline (Study 1)</li> <li>Table 1: Criteria used by interviewees to assess success</li> <li>Initial list of competencies (Study 1)</li> <li>Final competency definitions (Study 2)</li> <li>Table 2: Standard deviations of importance ratings (Study 2)</li> <li>Summary of exploratory analyses</li> <li>Table 3: Standard deviations of future competency importance ratings</li> </ul>