Human Behavior

These are the first responder situational awareness and decision making issues and opportunities related to human behavior. 

Assumed Risk V. Created Risk (Episode 252)

This episode is an interview with Dr. Burt Clark, discussing the notion of first responders who assume risk versus first responders who create risk. The discussion addresses a number of safety topics important to first responders. Length: 76 minutes   Click the YouTube icon to watch the full VIDEO     __________________________________________________ If you are […]

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Top Ten Near-Miss Interviews (SAM 248)

In this episode, I recap the events surrounding our most downloaded near-miss interviews in the history of the show. 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 level, check

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Situational Awareness Matters!

Resilient Problem Solvers

Perhaps you’re going to think I’ve been out in the sun too long when you read this proclamation: I want you to make more mistakes! What? It’s true, I do. But before you stop reading this article out of distain for such an absurd statement, please gift me just five minutes of your time to

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Seven Situational Awareness Thieves

Recently I had a video clip shared with me of a residential dwelling fire. The video captures a flashover event. It was reported to me that firefighters were operating inside the structure when it occurred. As I watched the video progress, it was apparent interior conditions were getting worse, the color of the smoke was

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Weather Can Impact Situational Awareness

You may recall from earlier discussions that situational awareness is formed by gathering information about what is happening in the environment around you. Then, your brain takes that information and attempts to form an understanding of what it all means. Finally, after understanding what it means, you make predictions of future events. This is a

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Situational Awareness Matters!

Situational Awareness in Hoarder Homes – Guest Post

Firefighter-Paramedic Ryan Pennington with the Charleston (WV) Fire Department has been conducting extensive research on the epidemic problem of emergencies in hoarder homes. Emergencies including everything from fires to EMS calls to animal hoarding issues – the whole gamut. Ryan has also developed a knock-out program on hoarder home fires. If your jurisdiction is having

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Episode 239 | How Could They Be SO Stupid?

  This episode discusses how easy it is for first responders to adopt a judgmental mindset and miss important lessons that can improve situational awareness. Length: 17 minutes   Click the YouTube icon to watch the full VIDEO         __________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational awareness and high-risk

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Positive Reinforcement of Undesirable Behavior

In this article I am taking on a topic often discussed in my leadership programs more often than in my situational awareness programs – motivation. I’m not going to get in to depth on the topic of motivation as it takes me a solid four hours in a classroom session to demystify the topic and

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Episode 234 | The Dirty Dozen – Killer Situational Awareness Barriers

This episode discusses some of the most challenging barriers to situational awareness while working in high-risk, high-consequence environments.  This is part 2 so if you missed part 1 – Episode 233 – be sure to check it out first and that will help you understand the challenges we are going to discuss here. Length: 36

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Episode 233 | The Process for Developing Situational Awareness

The episode discusses the process for developing and maintaining situational awareness.  We will discuss the foundation, walls and roof of the SA development process. This is part 1 of a 2-part episode.   Length: 36 minutes Click the YouTube icon to watch the full VIDEO         __________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking

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