Optimism Archives - Situational Awareness Matters!™

Forging Your Team – The Johnny Torgeson Story – 408

1 Comment / Attention Management, Attitude, Benchmarks, Communications, Competency, Culture, Decision Making, Expectations, Experience, Explicit Knowledge, Goals, Judgment, Leadership, Mindfulness, Miscommunications, Mission, Optimism, Risk, Risk Management, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Situational awareness, Standard Operating Procedures/Guidelines, Teamwork / Rich Gasaway

The fire service is struggling with recruiting and retention. It’s also challenged by a mental health crisis and a growing apathy within the profession. The good news is, we have the power to fix it. Working in a team environment provides job satisfaction, psychological safety, and a feeling of community. Fire service leaders have […]

Forging Your Team – The Johnny Torgeson Story – 408 Read More »

The Minnesota Hometown Heroes Assistance Program – 405

Leave a Comment / Assumptions, Attitude, Bravado, Close Call, Command Support, Communications, Complacency, Crew Resource Management, Culture, Decision Making, Defiance, Denial, Disoriented, Ego, Emotions, Expectations, Experience, Fatigue, Fear, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Frustration, Gut Feeling, Habits, Human Behavior, Human Error, Human Factors, Illness, Intuition, Invincible, Judgment, Leadership, Line of Duty Death, Lost Focus, Mayday, Mayday and RIT, Mental Models, Mindfulness, Miscommunications, Mission, Mission Myopia, Near Miss, Neuroscience, Optimism, Overload, Overwhelm, Perception, Perception Of Reality, Physical Fitness, Prediction, Preoccupation, Pressure, Risk, Risk Assessment, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Selective Listening, Shared Mental Models, Situational awareness, Situational Readiness, Size Up, Staffing, Standard Operating Procedures/Guidelines, Stress, Teamwork, Training, Understanding, Vigilance / Rich Gasaway

In this interview, Dr. Gasaway talks with George Esbensen, President of the Minnesota Firefighter Initiative (MnFIRE) about the Hometown Heroes Assistance Program. During his 32 years in the fire service, George Esbensen served in many roles, from firefighter to chief. Today, he volunteers as Board President of the Minnesota Firefighter Initiative (MnFIRE),

The Minnesota Hometown Heroes Assistance Program – 405 Read More »

Conducting a LODD After Action Review: Part 2 – 402

Leave a Comment / Accountability, Anger, Assertiveness, Assumptions, Attention Management, Attitude, Automatic Action, Automatic Action, Biases, Building Construction, Command Location, Command Presence, Command Support, Communications, Competency, Complacency, Comprehension, Confusion, Crew Resource Management, Culture, Decision Making, Defiance, Denial, Disoriented, Emotions, Equipment, Expectations, Experience, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Goals, Habits, Human Behavior, Human Error, Human Factors, Intuition, Judgment, Leadership, Line of Duty Death, Lost Focus, Mayday, Mayday and RIT, Mindfulness, Miscommunications, Mission, Mission Myopia, Optimism, Overwhelm, Perception, Perception Of Reality, Personal Protective Equipment, Personnel location, Prediction, Pressure, Progress Reports, Radios, Risk, Risk Assessment, Risk Management, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Situational awareness, Situational Readiness, Size Up, Staffing, Standard Operating Procedures/Guidelines, Stress, Task Fixation, Teamwork, Training, understaffing, Vigilance, Workload Management / Rich Gasaway

This episode is part 2 of a 2-part interview where Dr. Gasaway talks with retired Philadelphia Deputy Chief Vince Mulray and Battalion Chief Bobby Kennedy about conducting a Line-of-Duty After Action Review following the death of Lieutenant Matthew LeTourneau on January 6, 2018. After Action Review-Line of Duty Death On January 06, 2018, Lt.

Conducting a LODD After Action Review: Part 2 – 402 Read More »

Conducting a LODD After Action Review: Part 1 – 401

This episode is part 1 of a 2-part interview where Dr. Gasaway talks with retired Philadelphia Deputy Chief Vince Mulray and Battalion Chief Bobby Kennedy about conducting a Line-of-Duty After Action Review following the death of Lieutenant Matthew LeTourneau on January 6, 2018. After Action Review-Line of Duty Death On January 06, 2018,

Conducting a LODD After Action Review: Part 1 – 401 Read More »

The 400th Episode Anniversary of the SAMatters Show – 400

Leave a Comment / Accountability, Anger, Assertiveness, Assumptions, Attention Management, Attitude, Auditory exclusion, Automatic Action, Automatic Action, Automation, Benchmarks, Biases, Bravado, Building Construction, Checklists, Close Call, Cognitive Memory, Command Location, Command Presence, Command Support, Communications, Competency, Complacency, Comprehension, Confabulation, Confusion, Crew Resource Management, Culture, Decision Making, Defiance, Denial, Disoriented, Distractions and Interruptions, Ego, Emotions, Equipment, Error Creep, Excited, Expectations, Experience, Explicit Knowledge, Fatigue, Fear, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Frustration, Goals, Gut Feeling, Habits, Hallucinations, Human Behavior, Human Error, Human Factors, Hyper Vigilance, Illness, Incompetence, Independent Goal Setting - Freelancing, Information overload, Insubordination, Interruptions, Intuition, Invincible, Judgment, Leadership, Line of Duty Death, Live Events, Long-Term Memory, Lost Focus, Mayday, Mayday and RIT, Mental Models, Meta Awareness, Mind Drift, Mindfulness, Miscommunications, Mission, Mission Myopia, Motion Induced Blindness, Multitasking, Muscle Memory, Near Miss, Neuroscience, News, Online Classes, Optimism, Over Confident, Over Staffing, Overload, Overwhelm, PAR, Pattern Matching, Perception, Perception Of Reality, Personal Protective Equipment, Personnel location, Physical Fitness, Pre Arrival Lens, Prediction, Preoccupation, Pressure, Progress Reports, Questions & Answers, Radios, Repetition, Response Time Delays, Risk, Risk Assessment, Risk Management, Routines, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Selective Listening, Sensory Conflict, Shared Mental Models, Short Term Memory, Simulation, Situational awareness, Situational Readiness, Size Up, Staffing, Standard Operating Procedures/Guidelines, Stress, Tacit Knowledge, Task Fixation, Task Saturation, Teamwork, Technology, Testimonials, Time Distortion, Training, Tunnel Vision, Tunneled Senses, Under Confident, understaffing, Understanding, Vigilance, Virtual Training, Weather, Workload Management, Worksheets / Rich Gasaway

Dr. Gasaway, along with some special guests, celebrates the milestone of reaching our 400thepisode. The Situational Awareness Matters Show debuted on May 12, 2014. This episode highlights the journey Dr. Gasaway has taken to educate first responders about situational awareness and high-risk decision making. About the Host Richard B. Gasaway, PhD, CSP

The 400th Episode Anniversary of the SAMatters Show – 400 Read More »

Burned while searching for a fire victim. The Jeremy Saul Story – 392

Leave a Comment / Article, Assertiveness, Assumptions, Automatic Action, Building Construction, Close Call, Communications, Culture, Decision Making, Disoriented, Expectations, Experience, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Judgment, Mindfulness, Miscommunications, Mission, Mission Myopia, Near Miss, Optimism, Over Confident, Perception Of Reality, Personal Protective Equipment, Personnel location, Pressure, Risk, Risk Management, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Situational awareness, Size Up, Stress, Tunnel Vision / Rich Gasaway

Captain Jeremy Saul, a Situational Awareness Matters Certified Master Instructor shared a harrowing story about being burned while searching for a three-year old child trapped in a row home fire in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The interview includes a discussion about lessons learned and some of his favorite topics to teach during situational awareness classes. Episode

Burned while searching for a fire victim. The Jeremy Saul Story – 392 Read More »

Firefighter Wellness: Leading a balanced life. Dr. Donnie Hutchinson Part 2 – SAM 366

Leave a Comment / Accountability, Anger, Assumptions, Attitude, Bravado, Communications, Culture, Decision Making, Defiance, Denial, Emotions, Expectations, Fear, Habits, Human Behavior, Human Factors, Invincible, Leadership, Mindfulness, Miscommunications, Mission, Optimism, Perception, Perception Of Reality, Physical Fitness, Prediction, Preoccupation, Pressure, Risk, Risk Assessment, Risk Management, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Situational awareness, Stress, Tunnel Vision, Workload Management / Rich Gasaway

In this episode, we continue our discussion with Dr. Donnie, talking about the health and wellness qualities that make for successful first responders at work and at home. Description Dr. Donnie explores the health and wellness qualities that make for successful firefighters and other first responders at work and home. He teaches how

Firefighter Wellness: Leading a balanced life. Dr. Donnie Hutchinson Part 2 – SAM 366 Read More »

Firefighter Wellness: Leading a balanced life. Dr. Donnie Hutchinson Part 1 – SAM 365

Leave a Comment / Accountability, Anger, Assumptions, Attitude, Bravado, Communications, Culture, Decision Making, Defiance, Denial, Emotions, Expectations, Fear, Habits, Human Behavior, Human Factors, Invincible, Leadership, Mindfulness, Miscommunications, Mission, Optimism, Perception, Perception Of Reality, Physical Fitness, Prediction, Preoccupation, Pressure, Risk, Risk Assessment, Risk Management, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Stress, Tunnel Vision, Workload Management / Rich Gasaway

In this episode, Dr. Donnie explores the health and wellness qualities that make for successful first responders at work and at home. Dr. Donnie explores the health and wellness qualities that make for successful firefighters and other first responders at work and home. He teaches how and why firefighters and first responders need to put

Firefighter Wellness: Leading a balanced life. Dr. Donnie Hutchinson Part 1 – SAM 365 Read More »

The Overconfident Incompetent – SAM 351

Leave a Comment / Assumptions, Attitude, Automatic Action, Biases, Bravado, Cognitive Memory, Competency, Decision Making, Ego, Emotions, Expectations, Experience, Explicit Knowledge, Human Behavior, Human Error, Human Factors, Incompetence, Invincible, Judgment, Leadership, Optimism, Over Confident, Perception, Perception Of Reality, Prediction, Risk, Risk Management, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Situational awareness, Tacit Knowledge / Rich Gasaway

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 »

Sharing multiple near-miss experiences including being held-up at gunpoint. The Jim Arie Story – Part 2 (Episode 332)

Anger, Assumptions, Attention Management, Attitude, Close Call, Competency, Confusion, Decision Making, Denial, Emotions, Expectations, Experience, Fear, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Intuition, Lost Focus, Mindfulness, Near Miss, Optimism, Perception, Prediction, Preoccupation, Risk, Risk Assessment, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Situational awareness, Size Up, Stress, Tacit Knowledge, Task Fixation, Time Distortion, Tunnel Vision, Tunneled Senses / Rich Gasaway

This episode is Part 2 of a 2-part interview where we learn about multiple near-miss events experienced by retired Fire Chief, Jim Arie throughout his 43-year career and he’ll discuss the situational awareness lessons from being held-up at gunpoint in March, 2020. Length: 40 minutes Click the YouTube icon to watch the full video.

Sharing multiple near-miss experiences including being held-up at gunpoint. The Jim Arie Story – Part 2 (Episode 332) Read More »