These are the first responder situational awareness and decision making issues and opportunities related to ego.
Being a subordinate is an inherently essential skill for first responders. Borrowing a line from the movie A Few Good Men “We follow orders or people die.” This is true. However, consistent with the outcome of the movie, sometimes BECAUSE we follow orders people die. An example of this would be when a decision maker […]
Nine Dangerous Mindsets – Part 2: The Subordinate Read More »
One of the human factors influencing situational awareness is the mindset of the first responder. Mindset is based on beliefs, biases and self-perception. Mindset may also be influenced by organizational culture and peer pressure. In this series I am going to explore nine potentially dangerous mindsets and share how they can impact emergency scene safety.
Nine Dangerous Mindsets – Part 1: The Starter Read More »
This episode shares observations and lessons learned from the 2018 International Fire Department Instructors Conference. Length: 64 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 higher level, check out the Situational Awareness
Episode 210 | Observations and lessons from FDIC Read More »
Imagine for a moment that you’re part of a 4-person first-due crew responding on to an apartment fire. On the way to the call the dispatcher announces over the radio that a caller is reporting the fire to be on the first floor of a three-story apartment building. Your company officer tells you that on
Explaining Resistance to Change Read More »
Each member of an emergency response team is guided by a unique system of values, beliefs, assumptions and norms. Every member also brings their own unique habits and routines. What happens when you combine the values, beliefs, assumptions, norms, habits and routines of many unique individuals within an organization? You create culture. Organizational culture can
Culture And Situational Awareness Read More »
I recently read a post on social media where a firefighter said at an incident scene that he doesn’t worry about his situational awareness. That’s what he has an officer for. Further, he didn’t worry about having situational awareness about the larger incident scene, that’s what he has an incident commander for. I could
Confronting a Boss With Flawed Situational Awareness Read More »
Buildings are disposable. People are not! This guest editorial contribution is provided by Chief John Buckman III, Director of the Indiana State Fire Training and Certification System. Chief Buckman posted this piece on Facebook and, with his permission, it is being reposted here. The message is short and powerful.
Buildings are Disposable Read More »
I recently sent out a message across my social media networks (Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn) about bravado being a barrier to situational awareness. The message, in case you missed it, read: Bravado: The purposeful ignorance of critical signs of danger coupled with a sense of invincibility. A barrier to situational awareness. First responders sometimes confuse
Duty to Die Syndrome Read More »
For the most part, I am fortunate. The first responders who attend my situational awareness classes are humble, courteous and professional. They come to the programs eager to learn, open-minded and ask really smart questions. Clearly, their focus is on improving their safety. But… every once in a while, I get “that guy.”
I recently read an article where the author was taking exception to the risk management maxim: ‘We will risk a lot to save a lot and risk little to save little.’ There are several variations on this maxim, including: ‘Great risks will be taken to save savable lives; Moderate risks will be taken to save
Are You Assuming Risk or Creating Risk? Read More »
