These are the first responder situational awareness and decision making issues and opportunities related to human factors.
This episode interviews four members of the Sioux Falls (South Dakota) Fire Department who experienced a near-miss event when the platform on Truck 7 came into contact with a 33 kV transmission line during a routine truck check at the station. First responders spend a lot of time together, on calls, in the station, […]
Contact with a 33kV Electric Line. The Sioux Falls Fire Department Story – SAM 357 Read More »
This episode explores our basic human desire to be liked and respected. Not only do we want to be liked, but we also have a very strong internal drive to avoid embarrassment. These traits of human behavior can result in peer pressure that can, in turn, impact your situational awareness. First responders spend a
Peer Pressure – SAM 356 Read More »
This episode explores the capacity of the human brain to process sensory stimuli into short-term memory and the impact it can have on situational awareness. The San Francisco Fire Department conducted an internal review of the incident and issued a 156-page report on their findings. Many of the lessons relate to situational awareness and it
Information Overload – SAM 355 Read More »
On June 2, 2011, the San Francisco Fire Department suffered the tragic loss of 2 firefighters at 133 Berkeley Way. The episode shares some valuable situational awareness lessons from this tragic incident. The San Francisco Fire Department conducted an internal review of the incident and issued a 156-page report on their findings. Many of the
Five Situational Awareness Lessons from a LODD Incident – SAM 354 Read More »
Perhaps you’ve heard it said that we are creatures of habit. The more we do something over and over again, the more likely that behavior will be turned into a habit. This episodes explores how we create habits. Good or bad, we all have habits. On an emergency scene good habits can save
Creatures of Habit – SAM 353 Read More »
In this episode we explore the neuroscience behind causes your “gut feeling” – Intuition – and why you might want to pay attention to it. 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
The Origins of Intuition – SAM 352 Read More »
In this episode discusses the process for competency development and introduces the Dunning-Kruger Effect, a cognitive bias whereby unskilled people suffer from the illusion of having superior skills and knowledge. Description This discussion includes the four steps in the progression of competency: Step 1: Unconscious incompetence – being unaware of what you do
The Overconfident Incompetent – SAM 351 Read More »
This episode explores the challenges workers face while operating in dynamically changing conditions that require sharing attention to multiple, concurrent activities – a.k.a., multitasking. If you are the type of person who can work on your notebook, listen to music on your iPod, talk on your cell phone and text message at the same time,
The Myth of Multitasking – SAM 346 Read More »
On August 11, 2007, Captain Martin and his partner were over run by a fast-moving wildland fire. On retreat, his partner became entangled on a barbed wire fence. Captain Martin used a utility knife to cut away his partner’s ensnarled clothing and they both narrowly escaped death. Description Dave Martin’s crew was assigned
The Dave Martin Story – Flashback to Episode 45 – SAM 343 Read More »
This episode explores how your brain can make up, or confabulate, its own reality. A confabulated reality is one that we believe to be real but, in actuality, it is made up in our brain. The problem with this is we rarely are able to distinguish between a confabulated reality and true reality until something
Confabulated Realities Impact Situational Awareness – SAM 342 Read More »
