These are the first responder situational awareness and decision making issues and opportunities related to decision making.
If I were to tell you that on an emergency scene it is possible for you to use X-Ray vision, you’d probably think I’ve been watching too many Superman movies. But it is possible for you to look right through a solid object on an emergency scene and see what’s beyond it. Seriously! Read on…
Imagination Can Influence Situational Awareness Read More »
The decision to be defensive or to transition tactics from offensive to defensive at a structure fire requires strong situational awareness [tweet this] and it may be one of the hardest decisions a commander can make. The difficulty with this decision is not rooted in tactical shortcomings. The problem more fundamental.
Defensive Decision Making Read More »
A lesson on situational awareness: The tones drop for a reported residential fire. On the way to the call, dispatch reports multiple calls, confirming a working fire. On arrival the crew sees fire blowing out the B-C corner of the single story, detached residential dwelling. The resident is standing in the front yard. A quick
Ignoring the Signs of Danger Read More »
You develop situational awareness by using your senses to capture information (Level 1 situational awareness). Those clues and cues are then processed into understanding (Level 2 situational awareness). Once you understand what is happening, you can then make predictions of future events (Level 3 situational awareness). This article focuses on the third level of situational
Flawed Expectations of Personnel Can Impact Situational Awareness Read More »
Recently I was having a conversation with a fire commander who shared the following experience. He stopped by one of the stations for a visit and came upon a group of firefighters huddled around a computer screen watching videos. Relax. This is not a lecture on watching inappropriate videos on fire department computers. In fact,
How Could They Be So Stupid? Read More »
How significant (or stated another way… “How big a deal”) is flawed situational awareness as a contributing factor to firefighter near-miss events at structure fires? A. Not that big a deal B. Pretty big deal C. Really big deal (If you have attended one of my situational awareness programs you probably already know the answer
Flawed Situational Awareness at Structure Fires Read More »
I recently was contacted by a fire officer asking whether their mayday procedure should include a provision for a dedicated mayday channel for the distressed crew to transmit their post-mayday traffic on. This is a question I’ve been asked often enough that I want to dedicate an article to the topic of mayday communications procedures.
Mayday Radio Channel Read More »
I would like to share the results of a series of informal polls I have been conducting over a several year period. I conducted these surveys during my Firefighter Safety: Mistakes & Best Practices programs. Roughly 7,000 first responders have participated. There is nothing scientific about this survey or the results. It was merely
Giving L.I.P. to R.I.T. Read More »
I recently fielded a question from a Situational Awareness Matters member on the use of helmet cameras and the impact it might have on situational awareness. Here is the question: Would you please be so kind as to point me in the direction of literature, articles, websites or advice on the impact of personal cameras
Helmet Cams and Risky Behaviors Read More »
How you decide to do something is a complex process that involves multiple brain regions. Are decisions made with the rational brain or the intuitive brain? The answer, surprisingly, is both. Rational judgment allows you to process facts and data essential to good decision making. Intuition allows you to tap into past training and experiences
How We Decide … Anything Read More »
