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Communications

These are the first responder decision making and situational awareness issues and opportunities related to radio, face-to-face and interpersonal communications.

Episode170 | Interview with Brad Davidson

Brad Davidson is an industrial firefighter who was conducting an inspection on a furnace when his intuition told him something was wrong. This episode chronicles how trusting his intuition may have saved his life. Length: 49 minutes Click the YouTube icon to listen     _____________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational […]

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Episode 169 | Situational Awareness Insanity – Part 5

Albert Einstein is credited with saying “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results.” This is the final segment of a 5-part series that explores situational awareness insanity. Length: 26 minutes click the YouTube icon to listen     _____________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational

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Aggressive versus conservative

There is an ongoing debate in the fire service. Unless you are unplugged from social media and online journals, you’re surely aware of it. On one end of the argument are those who believe the fire service is tactically too aggressive and purport this may be contributing to casualties. On the other side of the

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Actions of the first-in officer

During a recent Flawed Situational awareness program, I engaged the class in a discussion of what the actions of the first-in officer should be once the decision is made to be offensive/interior. The choices were: a.) Make entry with the crew; b.) Establish a fixed command position outside and send the crew in without the

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A Must-See Safety Video

I would like to recommend that you all watch this video created by the Chicago Fire Department, depicting the [clickandtweet handle=”richgasaway” hashtag=”samatters” related=”samatters” layout=”” position=””]powerful life stories of firefighters who have been injured or killed.[/clickandtweet]

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Episode 159 | Dangerous Mindsets – The Synergist

This episode is the final installment of a nine-part serious on dangerous mindsets that first responders can develop and I offer some advice for dealing with each. This week we talk about the synergist mindset. Length: 24 minutes Click the YouTube icon to listen     _____________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of

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Meta Awareness

  Developing and maintaining situational awareness at an emergency scene can be a very challenging task. Scenes are often stressful, complex, time-compressed, and complicated with rapidly-changing conditions. Responders have lots of information to process and many tasks to perform. And, sadly, situational awareness isn’t always the forefront on their minds. Under such conditions, meta awareness

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Episode 158 | Dangerous Mindsets – The Slacker

  This episode is part eight of a nine-part serious on dangerous mindsets that first responders can develop and I offer some advice for dealing with each. This week we talk about the slacker mindset. Length: 26 minutes click the YouTube icon to listen     _____________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational

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Episode 157 | Dangerous Mindsets – The Super Hero

This episode is part seven of a nine-part serious on dangerous mindsets that first responders can develop and I offer some advice for dealing with each. This week we talk about the super hero mindset. Length: 26 minutes click the YouTube icon to listen       _____________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding

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Episode155 | Dangerous Mindsets – The Silent

  This episode is part six of a nine-part serious on dangerous mindsets that first responders can develop and I offer some advice for dealing with each. This week we talk about the Silent member. Length: 29 minutes click the YouTube icon to listen       _____________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of

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