These are the first responder situational awareness and decision making articles related to first responder safety.
This episode is part 1 of a 3-part interview with the incident commander from the German Township Fire Department who was in charge of a residential dwelling fire where a backdraft occurred followed by a Mayday call. Length: 67 minutes Click the YouTube icon to watch the full VIDEO __________________________________________________ If […]
Backdraft and Mayday! – Part 1 (Episode 249) Read More »
Welcome to Part 2 of my series on stress. The goal of this segment is to discuss three types of stress: Acute stress, episodic acute stress and chronic stress. Anyone on an emergency scene can, and often do, experience all three. Stress can impact situational awareness and, equally concerning, stress can have devastating long-term impacts.
Understanding Stress – Part 2: Types of stress Read More »
I field a lot of questions about stress during my programs. I think this is, in part, because of how pervasive stress is in the lives of anyone involved in an emergency situation and the role that stress plays in situational awareness and decision making. So I thought I’d write an article about stress. Well,
Understanding Stress – Part 1: The Physical, Chemical and Emotional Impact Read More »
In this episode, we discuss how workers can improve their safety by using mental rehearsals. Length: 21 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 out the Situational Awareness
Mental Rehearsal (Episode 247) Read More »
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
Resilient Problem Solvers Read More »
In this episode, you get to sit in on a segment of a situational awareness program where Dr. Gasaway discusses four situational awareness barriers. 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
Pre-Arrival Lens, Task Fixation, Mission Myopia and Fear (Episode 246) Read More »
The social interaction between coworkers may not be on your mind as you think about situational awareness. But the fact is we are all influenced by our relationships with others. We have an inherent internal desire to be well-liked and respected. We also have a very strong internal drive to avoid embarrassment. These traits of
Peer Pressure Can Impact Situational Awareness Read More »
In this episode, you get to sit in on a short segment of a situational awareness program where Dr. Gasaway explains the second component in the situational awareness process – how your brain develops understanding. Length: 47 minutes Click the YouTube icon to watch the full VIDEO __________________________________________________ If you are interested in
How We Understand (Episode 245) Read More »
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
Seven Situational Awareness Thieves Read More »
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
Weather Can Impact Situational Awareness Read More »
