These are the first responder situational awareness and decision making issues and opportunities related to team work, team coordination and team dynamics.
One of the human factors influencing situational awareness is the mindset of the first responder. Mindset is based on beliefs, biases and self-perception. Mindset may also be influenced by organizational culture and peer pressure. In this series I am going to explore nine potentially dangerous mindsets and share how they can impact emergency scene safety.
Nine Dangerous Mindsets – Part 1: The Starter Read More »
This episode is part 2 of a 2-part interview with firefighter Chris Baker, sharing a near-miss event at a Chevron Richmond Refinery in California. Disclaimer: The comments shared during this interview are of the individual and do not represent the views of any company, employer or agency. Length: 46 minutes Click the YouTube icon to
Episode 225 | Chris Baker Interview – Part 2 Read More »
This episode is part 1 of a 2-part interview with firefighter Chris Baker, sharing a near-miss event at a Chevron Richmond Refinery in California. Disclaimer: The comments shared during this interview are of the individual and do not represent the views of any company, employer or agency. Length: 44 minutes Click the YouTube icon to
Episode 224 | Chris Baker Interview – Part 1 Read More »
This episode revisits Part 2 of an interview with Indianapolis Health & Safety Chief Doug Abernathy discussing his near-miss at the Athletic Club Hotel fire on February 5, 1992 Length: 53 minutes Click the YouTube icon to watch the full VIDEO __________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational
Episode 222 | Doug Abernathy Interview – Part 2 Read More »
This episode revisits Part 1 of an interview with Indianapolis Health & Safety Chief Doug Abernathy discussing his near-miss at the Athletic Club Hotel fire on February 5, 1992 Length: 54 minutes Click the YouTube icon to watch the full VIDEO __________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational
Episode 221 | Doug Abernathy Interview – Part 1 Read More »
This episode revisits Part 2 of an interview conducted September 15, 2014 with Captain John Lightly from the Youngstown (Ohio) Fire Department about his near-miss event. Length: 76 minutes Click the YouTube icon to watch the full VIDEO __________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational awareness and high-risk
Episode 220 | John Lightly Interview – Part 2 Read More »
For some public safety agencies it is standard practice for the first arriving personnel (or crews of personnel) to deploy independently. Oftentimes these responders are highly trained, highly motivated and action oriented. What they are lacking is coordination of their efforts. The potential problem with this independent action is it may be unrealistic to think
Independent Actions Can Impact Team Situational Awareness Read More »
This episode revisits Part 1 of an interview conducted September 15, 2014 with Captain John Lightly from the Youngstown (Ohio) Fire Department about his near-miss event. Length: 55 minutes Click the YouTube icon to watch the full VIDEO __________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational awareness and high-risk
Episode 219 | John Lightly Interview – Part 1 Read More »
I was recently reading some research that mentioned the cognitive bias known as herd mentality (or herd behavior). Stated basically, individuals will group and follow each other for inexplicable reasons. This is sometimes referred to as the “mob mentality” and is observed during riots. When one person yells loudly and charges forward, the herd (or
Herd mentality can impact situational awareness Read More »
This episode explores how over staffing can impact situational awareness. Length: 29 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
Episode 217 | Overstaffing Read More »
