These are the first responder situational awareness and decision making issues and opportunities related to how responders are trained.
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 »
The development of situational awareness happens on a three-tiered continuum. It begins with perceiving your environment. Then, what is perceived must be understood (and this is not as simple as it may appear). Finally, understanding is used to predict the future. Summarizing, the three-step process: Perception – Understanding – Prediction. This article provides an example
How Flawed Expectations Can Impact Situational Awareness 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 »
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 shares observations and lessons learned from the 2018 International Fire Department Instructors Conference. Length: 64 minutes click the YouTube icon to listen __________________________________________________ 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
Episode 210 | Observations and lessons from FDIC Read More »
In this episode we discuss the importance of team situational awareness and how it can improve or impact safety. Length: 29 minutes click the YouTube icon to listen __________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational awareness and high-risk decision making to a higher level, check
Episode 208 | Team Situational Awareness Read More »
This episode examines how competing goals can impact situational awareness. Length: 31 minutes click the YouTube icon to listen __________________________________________________ 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.
Episode 206 | Competing Goals Read More »
Primum non nocere is the Latin phrase that means “first, do no harm.” This is a commonly taught principle in healthcare. In fact, the Hippocratic Oath, taken by doctors, promises they will abstain from doing harm to their patients. The premise is it may be better to NOT do something or to do nothing at
First, Do No Harm! Read More »
There is little doubt the economic recession of 2008-2009 had a significant impact on the nation’s fire service. Hardly a day went by where there wasn’t some news about an organization that downsized, rightsized or capsized. There are all kinds of explanations and terms being attached to what happened. One I heard at the time
Firefighting: It’s a whole new ballgame Read More »
