Fire managers from the U.S. Forest Service were surveyed to determine which decision factors most strongly influenced their fire#x2010;risk decisions. Safety, the resources at risk, public opinion, and the reliability of information were important influences on these decisions. This research allowed direct comparison between fire managers#x2019; perceptions of factor importance and how their fire#x2010;risk decisions changed in response to those factors. These risk decisions were highly responsive to changes in context (an escaped wildfire decision versus a prescribed burning decision) as well as to changing factors. The results demonstrate the utility of using scenarios in risk research and the vital importance of context in studying risk#x2010;taking behavior. Research which attempts to remove risk decisions from their real#x2010;world context may well distort the nature of risk#x2010;taking behavior.
展开▼
