These are the first responder situational awareness and decision making issues and opportunities related to accountability.
I recently had a situational awareness conversation with a firefighter who shared the details of an incident that made him both proud and disappointed. His company officer decided to do an exterior attack at a residential dwelling fire because the conditions had deteriorated to the point where an interior attack would not be warranted. […]
Ten Explanations for Unsafe Actions and a Bad Outcome Read More »
This episode explores the traits of high reliability organizations Length: 25 minutes Click the YouTube icon to watch the full VIDEO __________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational awareness and high-risk decision making to a higher level, check out the Situational Awareness Matters Online Academy. CLICK HERE for details, enrollment
Traits of High Reliability Organizations (Episode 275) Read More »
Recently I received a phone call from a fire captain in Colorado. He wanted to discuss some training ideas I inspired during my recent Training for Failure program his department hosted. One of the topics we addressed was teaching firefighters how to speak up when they have concerns. Teaching how to do this is especially
The Art of Speaking Up Read More »
This episode discusses how complacency can creep into our work, impact vigilance and flaw situational awareness. Length: 23 minutes Click the YouTube icon to watch the full VIDEO __________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational awareness and high-risk decision making to a higher level, check out the Situational Awareness
A Tale of Complacency (Episode 273) Read More »
I am just back from attending a fire conference where the vendors of information management software have coined a new buzzword to sell their wares – “situational intelligence.” A couple of years ago I had a conversation with a software vendor who claimed his software “created” situational awareness. I found this claim both annoying and
Situational Intelligence – The New Buzz Word Read More »
Anyone who’s been frustrated knows it can consume a lot of your mental energy and thinking space. This can significantly impact your situational awareness. In fact, depending on the level of frustration, your brain can be hijacked by all-consuming thoughts about what is causing the angst. While operating at an emergency scene, frustration may draw
Seven Ways Frustration Can Impact Situational Awareness Read More »
This episode discusses the connection between time distortion and situational awareness. Length: 20 minutes Click the YouTube icon to watch the full VIDEO __________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational awareness and high-risk decision making to a higher level, check out the Situational Awareness Matters Online Academy. CLICK HERE for
Time Distortion: A Barrier to Situational Awareness (Episode 269) Read More »
In this interview, Matt Marlow shares how his late arrival on a structure fire led to a complacent mindset and caused him to fall through the floor at a residential structure fire. Length: 78 minutes Click the YouTube icon to watch the full VIDEO __________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding
Firefighter Through the Floor – The Matt Marlow Story (Episode 266) Read More »
I recently read an investigation report where a firefighter died and it made me sad. First, as we see so often in after action reviews, it appears as though the tragedy may have been preventable. The second thing that made me sad about this investigation report was the inaccurate and incomplete recommendations about situational awareness.
Room for Improvement Read More »
Listen in as firefighter Tom Ehlers and fire chief Wesley Cole share their story about a fire incident where Tom was struck by a falling 14k volt power line on the scene of a fire. This is part 2 of the 2 part series. Length: 62 minutes Click the YouTube icon to watch the
Electrocuted by a downed power line – The Tom Ehlers Story – Part 2 (Episode 261) Read More »
