Size Up

These are the first responder situational awareness and decision making issues and opportunities related to size-up.

Drone Responders Interview with Charles Werner (Episode 281)

Leave a Comment / Accountability, Attention Management, Automation, Command Location, Command Support, Communications, Crew Resource Management, Culture, Decision Making, Distractions and Interruptions, Equipment, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Information overload, Judgment, Mindfulness, Multitasking, Personnel location, Pre Arrival Lens, Progress Reports, Risk, Risk Assessment, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Shared Mental Models, Size Up, Staffing, Standard Operating Procedures/Guidelines, Stress, Task Fixation, Technology, Training /

In this episode, Fire Chief (ret.) Charles Werner discusses how drone technology can be used to enhance first responder situational awareness and improve access to critical decision making information. Length: 61 minutes Click the YouTube icon to watch the full VIDEO     __________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational awareness and […]

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Situational Awareness and Decision Making Tips for Training

1 Comment / Accountability, Article, Attention Management, Decision Making, Distractions and Interruptions, Emotions, Fatigue, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Human Behavior, Information overload, Intuition, Multitasking, Questions & Answers, Risk Assessment, Safety, Simulation, Size Up, Teamwork, Technology, Training /

I recently received an email from a SAMatters community member asking for tips to improve size-up, situational awareness and decision making while training in a flashover simulator. It was a great question (thank you Captain Scott Byers from the Tracy Fire Department)! I offered Scott a number of ideas and thought it would be good

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Situational Awareness and Accountability

Leave a Comment / Accountability, Article, Communications, Decision Making, Emotions, Human Factors, Intuition, Mental Models, Neuroscience, Prediction, Risk Assessment, Situational awareness, Size Up /

Not long ago,  I was provided with the opportunity to present a webinar for Firehouse. The webinar was sponsored by Scott Safety. The program addressed the situational awareness/accountability connection. Thank you to Firehouse and Scott Safety for the opportunity to discuss this important topic.    

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Ten Explanations for Unsafe Actions and a Bad Outcome

7 Comments / Accountability, Article, Culture, Decision Making, Ego, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Risk Assessment, Safety, Situational awareness, Size Up, Teamwork /

  I recently had a situational awareness conversation with a firefighter who shared the details of an incident that made him both proud and disappointed. His company officer decided to do an exterior attack at a residential dwelling fire because the conditions had deteriorated to the point where an interior attack would not be warranted.

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A Tale of Complacency (Episode 273)

Leave a Comment / Accountability, Assumptions, Attention Management, Attitude, Command Presence, Competency, Complacency, Culture, Decision Making, Denial, Expectations, Habits, Incompetence, Invincible, Mindfulness, Mission, Optimism, Over Confident, Perception Of Reality, Preoccupation, SAMatters Radio, Size Up, Staffing, Training, Vigilance /

This episode discusses how complacency can creep into our work, impact vigilance and flaw situational awareness. Length: 23 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

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Radio Discipline (Episode 272)

Leave a Comment / Assumptions, Attention Management, Auditory exclusion, Cognitive Memory, Communications, Confusion, Crew Resource Management, Culture, Distractions and Interruptions, Equipment, Human Behavior, Information overload, Miscommunications, Overload, Progress Reports, Radios, Risk Assessment, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Selective Listening, Sensory Conflict, Shared Mental Models, Short Term Memory, Size Up, Tunneled Senses /

  This episode discusses the importance of radio discipline in developing and maintaining situational awareness. Length: 19 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 Matters

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Pre-Conception (Episode 270)

Leave a Comment / Assumptions, Auditory exclusion, Automatic Action, Biases, Cognitive Memory, Confabulation, Confusion, Decision Making, Denial, Disoriented, Expectations, Goals, Hallucinations, Human Behavior, Judgment, Mission, Neuroscience, Pattern Matching, Perception Of Reality, Prediction, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Size Up /

This episode discusses how pre-conception can impact situational awareness. Length: 19 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 Matters Online Academy. CLICK HERE for details, enrollment

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Firefighter Through the Floor – The Matt Marlow Story (Episode 266)

Leave a Comment / Accountability, Assumptions, Attention Management, Attitude, Automatic Action, Close Call, Communications, Complacency, Decision Making, Distractions and Interruptions, Expectations, Lost Focus, Mission Myopia, Over Confident, Pre Arrival Lens, Response Time Delays, SAMatters Radio, Size Up, Vigilance /

In this interview, Matt Marlow shares how his late arrival on a structure fire led to a complacent mindset and caused him to fall through the floor at a residential structure fire. Length: 78 minutes   Click the YouTube icon to watch the full VIDEO     __________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding

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Electrocuted by a downed power line – The Tom Ehlers Story – Part 2 (Episode 261)

Leave a Comment / Accountability, Assumptions, Attention Management, Attitude, Close Call, Command Location, Command Presence, Communications, Complacency, Decision Making, Disoriented, Emotions, Equipment, Gut Feeling, Human Error, Intuition, Judgment, Lost Focus, Mayday, Mayday and RIT, Personal Protective Equipment, Prediction, Risk, Risk Assessment, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Size Up, Stress, Training, Tunnel Vision, Vigilance /

Listen in as firefighter Tom Ehlers and fire chief Wesley Cole share their story about a fire incident where Tom was struck by a falling 14k volt power line on the scene of a fire.  This is part 2 of the 2 part series. Length: 62 minutes   Click the YouTube icon to watch the

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