Purpose
– It is essential to understand how members of the public make decisions during emergencies. Such understanding is crucial in order to understand how emergency services can best influence positive protective behaviours. Previous research in this area has indicated that members of the public will respond both to the threat from an incident such as a fire as well the way the threat is managed by emergency responders and that this management will be crucial in increasing public willingness to comply with emergency services instructions.

Aims
The study aimed to identify factors that affected the way in which those involved in the Grenfell Tower Fire behaved and develop the understanding of factors that affect public behaviour during large scale emergencies.

Design/methodology/approach
This paper used 72 transcripts from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry to examine how members of the public make decisions during emergencies. The study utilised a Framework Analysis to identify themes relating to how members of the public made decisions regarding protective actions and what factors influenced these decisions.

Findings
The study identifies several key factors which influenced individuals' decision making concerning protective actions:

- Uncertainty and Anxiety.

- Environmental Factors in Evacuation Decision Making.

- Trust.

- Helping and Co-Operative Behaviours in Emergencies.

Originality/value
Data involving real life emergencies is extremely useful in providing support to the development of emergency procedures and training for emergency services.

The research identifies several key factors which can inform a better understanding of public behaviour during emergencies.