Attention Management

These are the first responder situational awareness and decision making issues and opportunities related to the management of attention.

Episode 33: A double close call at a residential dwelling fire

Leave a Comment / Accountability, Attention Management, Building Construction, Close Call, Communications, Complacency, Crew Resource Management, Culture, Decision Making, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Multitasking, Personnel location, Risk Assessment, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Situational awareness, Size Up, Staffing, Standard Operating Procedures/Guidelines, Teamwork, Workload Management /

Wadesville Fire Department Deputy Chief Adam Farrar recounts a residential dwelling fire that resulted in two close call events for members operating at the scene.     Length: 43 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 […]

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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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Episode 20: Mayday for Mental Health

Leave a Comment / Attention Management, Communications, Culture, Decision Making, Emotions, Fear, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Human Behavior, Leadership, Mayday and RIT, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Situational awareness, Standard Operating Procedures/Guidelines, Stress /

This episode chronicles a father’s story of inspiration from tragedy. Listen in as I interview Fire Chief Patrick Kenny from the Village of Western Springs, Illinois Fire Department. Chief Kenny talks candidly about losing his son, Sean, to suicide – and the importance of mental health for first responders. Length: 33 minutes click the YouTube

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Episode 19: Situational awareness lessons from a first responder shot in the face

Leave a Comment / Attention Management, Close Call, Competency, Decision Making, Emotions, Fear, Human Behavior, Human Factors, Intuition, Neuroscience, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Situational awareness, Standard Operating Procedures/Guidelines, Stress, Teamwork, Training /

This close call survival story is an amazing interview with Okaloosa County Sheriff Investigator Steven Hough. This episode retells the story of a first responder shot in the face by an assailant during a standoff. He will share with you what happened as the suspect, armed with an assault rifle, charged the vehicle Investigator Hough and

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Episode 18: Situational Awareness Lessons Learned in Two Minutes

1 Comment / Accountability, Attention Management, Auditory exclusion, Close Call, Communications, Crew Resource Management, Culture, Decision Making, Distractions and Interruptions, Ego, Emotions, Fear, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Human Behavior, Human Factors, Intuition, Mayday and RIT, Neuroscience, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Situational awareness, Size Up, Staffing, Standard Operating Procedures/Guidelines, Stress, Tacit Knowledge, Teamwork, Training, Tunneled Senses, Workload Management /

This close call survival story is an interview with Aurora Fire Lieutenant Sean Dolan sharing amazing lessons from the house fire where he was caught in a flashover and sustained second and third-degree burns. Sean is very candid in sharing the details of what happened and how close he came to death. Length: 63 minutes

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Episode 16: The impact of fatigue on situational awareness

Leave a Comment / Accountability, Attention Management, Communications, Crew Resource Management, Decision Making, Distractions and Interruptions, Emotions, Fatigue, Human Behavior, Human Factors, Information overload, Multitasking, Physical Fitness, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Situational awareness, Situational Readiness, Staffing, Standard Operating Procedures/Guidelines, Stress, Task Saturation, Teamwork, Workload Management /

Episode 16: The impact of fatigue on situational awareness Back in episode 7 I answered a listener question about the impact of fatigue on situational awareness. I promised in that episode that I would dedicate more time to this topic in an upcoming episode. So I want to explore the issue of fatigue some more.

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Mission Myopia: A situational awareness barrier

Leave a Comment / Attention Management, Complacency, Crew Resource Management, Decision Making, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Human Factors, Repetition, Risk Assessment, Safety, Simulation, Situational awareness, Size Up, Stress, Tacit Knowledge, Training, Tunneled Senses /

Every emergency scene operation should begin with determining the mission (sometimes called strategy) and setting task-level goals (sometimes called tactics). Strategy and tactics establish what is to be done and how it is to be done. For example, at a structure fire, arriving responders are trained to conduct search and rescue operations and to extinguish

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Tacit knowledge and situational awareness

2 Comments / Attention Management, Competency, Decision Making, Human Factors, Neuroscience, Repetition, Safety, Situational awareness, Tacit Knowledge /

While conducting research on how decisions are made during high consequence events I came across a term I’d never heard before – “tacit knowledge.” Once I learned what it was it quickly became evident that I possessed it… and I didn’t know it. In fact, every first responder who has developed expert-level knowledge and skills

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Working Command and Situational Awareness

6 Comments / Accountability, Attention Management, Communications, Crew Resource Management, Culture, Decision Making, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Safety, Situational awareness, Size Up, Stress, Teamwork, Workload Management /

I seem to be getting asked a lot lately about what the first arriving company officer should do at a working structure fire. Specifically, the debate revolves around two basic premise. Should the first arriving company officer assume a fixed command position outside the structure and coordinate the activities of incoming units? Or, should the

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