These are the first responder situational awareness and decision making articles related to first responder safety.
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 is Part 2 of a 2-part interview with Deputy Chief John Vanatta discussing a training exercise that went wrong and resulted in two firefighter injuries after falling 10 feet on to concrete. Deputy Chief John Vanatta discussing a training exercise that went wrong and resulted in two firefighter injuries. Part 2 The Denver
The John Vanatta Story. Part 2 – SAM 350 Read More »
This episode is Part 1 of a 2-part interview with Deputy Chief John Vanatta discussing a training exercise that went wrong and resulted in two firefighter injuries after falling 10 feet on to concrete. The Denver Drill that John discusses had been performed all week using two ladders and two firefighters at the sill. But
The John Vanatta Story. Part 1 – SAM 349 Read More »
On March 27, 2015, Cypress Creek District Chief Jason Corthell was trapped and injured during a fire where a stairwell unexpectedly collapsed at an apartment building fire in Texas. This is Part 2 of his follow-up story and the road to physical and mental recovery. Back on Episode 55, then Cypress Creek Lieutenant Jason Corthell
The Jason Corthell Story. The Next Chapter. Part 2 – SAM 348 Read More »
On March 27, 2015, Cypress Creek District Chief Jason Corthell was trapped and injured during a fire where a stairwell unexpectedly collapsed at an apartment building fire in Texas. This the follow-up story of his road to physical and mental recovery. Back on Episode 55, then Cypress Creek Lieutenant Jason Corthell shared his close call
The Jason Corthell Story. The Next Chapter. Part 1 – SAM 347 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 »
In this episode, Captain Ricky Mehaffey from the Waynesville NC Fire Department chronicles his near-miss survival story where 3 firefighters almost died at a “routine” chimney fire. At the time of the fire, Rick Mehaffey served as an engineer for the Waynesville Fire Department, is combination department that runs 2500 calls a year out of
The Rick Mehaffey Story. Flashback to Episode 142 – SAM 344 Read More »
