These are first responder situational awareness and decision making issues and opportunities related to distractions and interruptions.
Lieutenant Jeff Dickey has served the Washington, D.C. Fire Department for more than 30 years. Jeff was an acting officer during an incident where a DC firefighter was killed and Jeff was on the crew that recovered his body. Length: 59 minutes Click the YouTube icon to watch the full VIDEO […]
A line of duty death perspective – The Jeff Dickey Story (Episode 312) Read More »
Some of the least appreciated members of the emergency response team are the communications specialists (in some venues, termed dispatchers). How do I know this? First, I served as a communications specialist (my job title was “dispatcher”) early in my career and I was routinely subjected to criticism and ridicule from responders because the information
The Communications Specialist Role in Forming Situational Awareness Read More »
I’d like to thank one of the loyal Situational Awareness Matters readers (whose name and department I am holding in confidence) for sending me a picture and a story about a van fire, no, a ‘routine van fire‘ his department had recently. On the arrival of the engine, the officer reported a working fire and
It’s Only A Vehicle Fire! Read More »
It is amazing how many articles and videos I have watched lately in which they are talking about decision making based on “gut feel.” It is also disheartening how many first responders I have interviewed who have admitted to me that they have dismissed their gut feelings and proceeded to do things that resulted
Where Does Intuition Come From? Read More »
The foundation for developing situational awareness is perception – using your senses to gather information about what is happening around you. In lay terms, we call it paying attention. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to develop strong situational awareness if you are not paying attention to what is happening around you. For better
Weapons of Mass Distraction Read More »
If you are a student of near-miss and casualty reports then you know, without a doubt, that flawed communications are a major contributing factor when things go wrong and flawed communications are often a factor when the quality of situational awareness erodes. In fact, flawed communication was the second most frequently cited barrier to flawed
19 Ways Communications Barriers Can Impact Situational Awareness Read More »
In this episode, I preview the chapter on Task Fixation from my new book, How Smart Workers Use Situational Awareness to Improve Safety. Length: 33 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
Preview of the Task Fixation Chapter of My New Smart Workers Book (Episode 289) Read More »
In this episode, I preview the chapter on Auditory Exclusion from my new book, How Smart Workers Use Situational Awareness to Improve Safety. Length: 27 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
Preview of the Auditory Exclusion Chapter of My New Smart Workers Book (Episode 288) Read More »
In this episode, Fire Chief (ret.) Charles Werner discusses how drone technology can be used to enhance first responder situational awareness and improve access to critical decision making information. Length: 61 minutes Click the YouTube icon to watch the full VIDEO __________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational awareness and
Drone Responders Interview with Charles Werner (Episode 281) Read More »
Because first responders frequently operate in environments where there are multiple auditory inputs (e.g., radio traffic, face-to-face communications, ambient sounds, etc.) they are often forced to prioritize what they listen to (or don’t listen to). This can cause issues with situational awareness.
Selective Listening Can Be A Barrier To Situational Awareness Read More »
