Rich Gasaway

Richard B. Gasaway served 33 years on the front lines as a firefighter, EMT-Paramedic and fire chief. He earned his Doctor of Philosophy degree while studying how individuals, teams and organizations develop and maintain situational awareness and make decisions in high stress, high consequence, time compressed environments. Dr. Gasaway is widely considered to be one of the nation's leading authorities on first responder situational awareness and decision making. His material has been featured and referenced in more than 400 book chapters, research projects, journal articles, podcasts, webinars and videos. His research and passion to improve workplace safety through improved situational awareness is unrivaled. Dr. Gasaway's leadership and safety programs have been presented to more than 42,000 first responders, emergency managers, medical providers, military personnel, aviation employees, industrial workers and business leaders throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

Episode 32: Tips for improving situational awareness

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This episode discusses 12 tips for developing and maintaining situational awareness and reviews a firefighter near miss from a flashover and mayday.     Length: 22 minutes click the YouTube icon to listen     _____________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational awareness and high-risk decision making to a higher level, check […]

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Episode 31: Out of air! A Close Call Survivor Story

Leave a Comment / Accountability, Building Construction, Close Call, Communications, Crew Resource Management, Culture, Decision Making, Fatigue, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Human Behavior, Human Factors, Mental Models, PAR, Personal Protective Equipment, Personnel location, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Situational awareness, Size Up, Staffing, Standard Operating Procedures/Guidelines, Teamwork /

On Wednesday, February 18, 2009, Elyria Fire Captain Joe Pronesti experienced a close call when he responded to a fire alarm activation call on a college campus. The first arriving engine reported heavy smoke coming from multiple buildings. In search of the source of the smoke, crews would learn the fire was in a tunnel

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Episode 30: Brooklyn Park Fire Department Carbon Monoxide Close Call

Leave a Comment / Accountability, Close Call, Communications, Complacency, Crew Resource Management, Culture, Decision Making, Equipment, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Intuition, Personal Protective Equipment, Risk Assessment, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Situational awareness, Size Up, Standard Operating Procedures/Guidelines, Tacit Knowledge, Teamwork /

On Saturday, September 13, 2014, the Brooklyn Park Fire Department was dispatched to a medical call that had the potential to be catastrophic for the members of their department, their EMS transport provider and their police department. Length: 41 minutes click the YouTube icon to listen       _____________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking

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Situational Awareness Matters

Episode 29: Interview with Spokane Assistant Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer

Leave a Comment / Accountability, Building Construction, Close Call, Communications, Crew Resource Management, Culture, Decision Making, Firefighter Situational Awareness, PAR, Personnel location, Risk Assessment, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Situational awareness, Size Up, Staffing, Tacit Knowledge, Time Distortion /

On July 5, 2013, the Spokane Fire Department responded to a reported commercial building fire at the Mayfair Professional Building, located at 5901 North Mayfair. Within two minutes of the alarm, the first arriving company found light smoke coming from the area of the HVAC units in the side of the building. The structure was

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Situational Awareness Matters

Episode 28: Interview with technology guru Darrell O’Donnell

1 Comment / Communications, Decision Making, Equipment, Gasaway Consulting Group, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Situational awareness, Situational Readiness, Technology /

On this episode, I interview technology guru Darrell O’Donnell. Darrell runs a successful technology coaching and consulting firm where he works to bridge the gap between technology experts and first responders. Darrell has a special passion for technology that helps first responders develop, maintain and improve situational awareness by providing rapid access to critical information

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Situational Awareness Matters

Episode 27: Preparing for your climb down the ladder: Retirement

Leave a Comment / Accountability, Communications, Crew Resource Management, Culture, Decision Making, Emotions, Fear, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Human Behavior, Leadership, SAMatters Radio, Situational awareness, Stress /

On this episode, I interview Jeff Dill from the Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance and Fire Chief (ret.) Les Karpluk who operates Genesis 2020 Solutions, a leadership teaching and consulting company located in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada. This interview focuses on a topic we are all going to face one day – leaving the fire service.

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Situational Awareness Matters!

Episode 26: StopBad! An interview with Comox Fire Chief Gord Schreiner

Leave a Comment / Accountability, Close Call, Communications, Competency, Crew Resource Management, Culture, Decision Making, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Leadership, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Situational awareness, Situational Readiness, Standard Operating Procedures/Guidelines, Technology, Training /

On this episode, I interview Fire Chief Gord Schreiner and he shares valuable lessons from his “Safe and Efficient Scene Management Class” which by many departments throughout Canada has become known as the “StopBad” program. Length: 57 Minutes click the YouTube icon to listen       _____________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding

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Episode 25: A firefighter’s situational awareness lessons from a mayday call.

Leave a Comment / Accountability, Building Construction, Close Call, Communications, Complacency, Crew Resource Management, Decision Making, Distractions and Interruptions, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Mayday and RIT, Personal Protective Equipment, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Situational awareness, Size Up, Teamwork /

On this episode, I interview Firefighter John Dantuono of the Lakeside (New York) Fire Department. Lakeside is located west of Syracuse. The all-volunteer fire department serves a population of about 15,000. Listen in as John discusses how he responded to a mutual aid residential dwelling fire and fell through a weakened floor. As he notes,

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Exciting changes coming to SAMatters!

Leave a Comment / Attention Management, Close Call, Communications, Decision Making, Distractions and Interruptions, Emotions, Equipment, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Gasaway Consulting Group, Intuition, Leadership, Mental Models, Repetition, Safety, Situational awareness, Standard Operating Procedures/Guidelines, Tacit Knowledge, Teamwork, Technology, Training, Workload Management /

In case you missed the announcements made in the October newsletter, there are some exciting changes coming to the SAMatters community. This month (October 2014) marks the three-year anniversary since the launch of the SAMatters website and the popular “Get in the Loop” live tour events. And while we have enjoyed many wonderful accomplishments since

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Situational Awareness Matters Radio

Episode 24: A situational awareness driving lesson.

Leave a Comment / Attention Management, Close Call, Communications, Decision Making, Equipment, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Multitasking, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Situational awareness, Standard Operating Procedures/Guidelines, Training /

On this episode, I interview Firefighter Richard Marcus of the New Hartford Volunteer Fire Department in Connecticut. On May 5, 2006, Firefighter Marcus was in the officer’s seat of New Hartford Engine 1 responding to a report of a fire on the roadside.

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