A Pilot Study on The Reliability and Validity of an Instrument Assessing Peatland Fire Suppression Techniques

Abstract

Effective management of peatland fires requires robust, evidence-based assessment tools to measure the performance and limitations of suppression efforts. This research presents the development and psychometric verification of a standardised assessment tool designed to gauge the views of Malaysian firefighters on modern peatland fire suppression methods. Based on Stufflebeam’s Context–Input–Process–Product (CIPP) evaluation model, the tool was used to collect responses from 99 firefighters from the Selangor Fire and Rescue Department using a Likert scale questionnaire. Reliability analysis of the five domains ranged from 0.722 to 0.773, indicating high internal consistency. Validity was determined using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) with a Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin value of 0.793 and seven components accounting for 67.6% of the variance. These results confirm the reliability and construct validity of the instrument and provide a sound method for measuring operational complexity, staff shortages, health impacts and equipment effectiveness in suppressing peatland fires. The tool provides a replicable, field- tested method to inform fire management and support a more adaptive, firefighter-led approach to tropical peatland fires. This research directly enhances real-world peatland fire management by providing a standardized, psychometrically validated tool that systematically converts frontline firefighter experiences into actionable data, enabling FRDM to diagnose and address specific operational failures from inadequate equipment and manpower shortages to critical health risks and logistical gaps with empirical evidence. By combining scientific rigour (reliability and validity) with practical relevance, the tool helps translate academic research into ffeasible insights for fire services, fostering a culture of evidence-based continuous improvement.