Organizing cross-border fire brigade response in the Dutch-German border region

Kees Boersma, PhD; Erwin Engelman, MSc

doi:10.5055/jem.2012.0086

Authors

Kees Boersma, PhD
Erwin Engelman, MSc

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5055/jem.2012.0086

Keywords:

safety response, cross-border response, organizational collaboration

Abstract

This article addresses the opportunities and problems with cross-border collaboration between the Dutch and German fire brigades. The following are the main problems: 1) no uniformity in concluding and using the cross-border agreements for emergency assistance, 2) the language problem, 3) the material and equipment problem, 4) communication problems, and 5) differences in organizational autonomy. The following are the possible solutions for the aforementioned problems: 1) new routines by joint-training sessions, 2) bilingual information systems, 3) technical standardization of equipment, 4) standardization of communication, and 5) building trust on the basis of insights into each other’s routines.

Author Biographies

Kees Boersma, PhD

Associate Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Organization Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Erwin Engelman, MSc

Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Organization Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

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