Purpose: Teams, teamwork and team learning have been the subject of many research studies over the last decades. This article aims at investigating and confirming the Team Learning Beliefs and Behaviours (TLB&B) model within a very specific population, i.e. police and firemen teams. Within this context, the paper asks whether the team's beliefs about the interpersonal context and the occurrence of three team learning behaviours (construction, co-construction and constructive conflict) play a role in building and maintaining mutually shared cognition in a collaborative learning environment leading to a higher effectiveness. Self-efficacy was added to the original model. Furthermore, the effect of team meeting frequency on the TLB&B model was investigated. Design/methodology/approach: All constructs were measured using the validated Team Learning Beliefs and Behaviours Questionnaire completed with the self-efficacy scale. Data were collected from 126 teams (n[subscript individuals] = 769) and analysed using stepwise multi-level regression analyses and analyses of variance. Findings: The results show that the examined model generally applies to the data. Furthermore, self-efficacy was found to be a valuable addition to the model. Originality/value: This article validates an existing team learning model in a new context, namely that of response teams. Furthermore, it adds self-efficacy as a predictor for team learning behaviours and team effectiveness. A multilevel-approach was used as a valuable alternative of aggregating individual perceptions to team constructs. (Contains 4 tables and 2 figures.)