These articles related to firefighter situational awareness.
Locus of control is a psychological principal that refers to the extent to which a person feels they are in control of the events that can affect their life, well-being or success. It is often associated with how a person views what happens to them in life and who is responsible for their successes and […]
The mission of this website and my personal passion for situational awareness is to help first responders see the bad things coming in time to change the outcome. Consistent with that mission, I try to help responders understand how various aspects of the job – from training, to human factors, to command competence and everything in
Multiple Awarenesses Read More »
The development of situational awareness happens on a three-tiered continuum. It begins with perceiving your environment. Then, what is perceived must be understood (and this is not as simple as it may appear). Finally, understanding is used to predict the future. Summarizing, the three-step process: Perception – Understanding – Prediction. This article provides an example
How Flawed Expectations Can Impact Situational Awareness Read More »
For some public safety agencies it is standard practice for the first arriving personnel (or crews of personnel) to deploy independently. Oftentimes these responders are highly trained, highly motivated and action oriented. What they are lacking is coordination of their efforts. The potential problem with this independent action is it may be unrealistic to think
Independent Actions Can Impact Team Situational Awareness Read More »
I was recently reading some research that mentioned the cognitive bias known as herd mentality (or herd behavior). Stated basically, individuals will group and follow each other for inexplicable reasons. This is sometimes referred to as the “mob mentality” and is observed during riots. When one person yells loudly and charges forward, the herd (or
Herd mentality can impact situational awareness Read More »
This episode celebrates the 4th anniversary of the SAMatters show and chronicles the history of the founder and his tireless mission to improve situational awareness and high-risk decision making. Length: 45 minutes click the YouTube icon to watch the full VIDEO of this interview! __________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding
Episode 211 | 4th Anniversary episode 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 »
The mission of Situational Awareness Matters is to help you see the bad things coming… in time to change bad outcomes. SA is a complex neurological process and I go to painstaking efforts to ensure that what I teach here, on the podcast and in classrooms is “first responder friendly.” I don’t ever want a
Fifteen Situational Awareness Barriers Read More »
When it comes to developing and maintaining situational awareness, tunnel vision is a big deal. Effective situational awareness is developed from having a broad perception of the environment in which you are operating. As your focus narrows, you start to miss things. Those “missed things” are like lost puzzle pieces, leaving holes in your understanding
Explaining Tunnel Vision Read More »
This episode is the third (and final) segment of an interview with Chesterfield County Battalion Chief Joy Knicely and Captain Rick Grassel. Length: 50 minutes click the YouTube icon to watch the full VIDEO of this interview! __________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational awareness and high-risk decision making
Episode 200 | Chesterfield County Interview – Part 3 Read More »
