This study investigates the effectiveness of immersive audiovisual simulations in eliciting emotional responses and replicating the psychological and cognitive demands of high-risk operational environments, particularly in firefighting scenarios. Conducted in two successive phases, the research first employed a pilot study involving 90 participants (45 firefighters and 45 students) who were exposed to a controlled audiovisual simulation. Emotional responses were assessed using the Differential Emotion Scale (DES), the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). The second phase involved an immersive room experiment with 36 firefighters, where the same audiovisual stimulus was presented in a fully immersive environment, integrating interactive decision-making tasks to enhance ecological validity. The findings indicate that both methods effectively elicited the targeted emotional responses, including stress, fear, anger, and serenity, with firefighters exhibiting greater emotional regulation and adaptive coping strategies compared to students. The immersive room environment significantly amplified emotional engagement, resulting in stronger emotional responses from the first scene onward. These results underscore the potential of immersive training tools in preparing emergency responders for high-stress situations by strengthening psychological resilience, improving emotional regulation, and optimizing decision-making under pressure. The study contributes to advancing evidence-based training methodologies in emergency response, public safety, and crisis management, emphasizing the importance of integrating immersive technologies into professional training programs.

This paper presents a research program called CP2DIMG conducted at the Federation of Environment and Society Research at the University of Corsica. The goal of CP2DIMG is to better understand the influence of emotions on operational personnel’s decision-making, aiming to test training systems dedicated to individuals facing high stress during their professional activities. This type of training system is intended to enhance emotional and mental resilience, thereby improving decision-making ability in uncertain situations under the influence of emotions related to the event. For implementation, the method will be tailored to the specificities of two categories of operational personnel: firefighters and municipal police officers. The expected results will address significant demands from operational professionals in the Mediterranean region for firefighting safety but also for large-scale or highly complex interventions. This study fully integrates into the challenges of the Mediterranean region: forest management, risk prevention plans, and preparedness of local actors responsible for crisis management. Furthermore, individuals responsible for crisis management, including local government officials and risk management and security personnel, will be able to use the obtained results for effective decision-making.