There exists an acute need for an unambiguous objectively measurable emergency scale to facilitate communication and mutual understanding of the nature of any emergency, by the public and government agencies. A review of existing emergency scales and their potential indicates no one scale can accurately describe all emergencies. Our research solicits ideas for such a scale using a modified Delphi process followed by a survey. The goal of this research is to gain a better understanding on how the public understands emergency scales and anticipate response for emergency events. The contribution of this research is to identify a set of fundamental dimensions for a measurable emergency scale, derived from the Delphi process outcomes. We also present preliminary findings from the survey developed from the results of the Delphi process.