Flawed situational awareness (SA) is one of the leading contributing factors to first responder near-miss and casualty events. In fact, it is nearly impossible to find a line-of-duty death investigation report that does not implicate flawed SA, or one of the barriers that flaw SA, as contributing to the tragedy. As often as flawed SA […]
Situational Awareness: Think Past, Present & Future Read More »
This episode is part 1 of a 2-part interview with Clearview Fire & EMS Chief Roree Payment, sharing the details of a residential dwelling fire near-miss where he was caught in a fireball due to rapidly changing, wind-driven conditions. Length: 47 minutes Click the YouTube icon to watch the full VIDEO __________________________________________________ If
Surrounded by Fire: The Roree Payment Story – Part 1 (Episode 297) Read More »
It’s an odd term – normalization of deviance. But the term and the premise behind the term provides a valuable explanation as to some of the behaviors we observe in the first responder world. Defining the term Normalization: To make normal; to make an established standard. Deviance: Departing from the norm; performing
The Normalization of Deviance Read More »
In this episode, we review the Overconfidence chapter of my new book, How Smart Workers Use Situational Awareness to Improve Safety. Length: 28 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
Overconfidence – A Dangerous Minefield (Episode 296) Read More »
In this article, we discuss three types of stress: Acute stress, episodic acute stress, and chronic stress. First responders can, and often do, experience all three. Stress can impact firefighter situational awareness and, equally concerning, stress can have devastating long-term impacts. As I was writing this article I recalled various times during my thirty years
Three types of stress Read More »
November 19, 2019 Gasaway Safety Solutions has been contracted to conduct a situational awareness training for ExxonMobil’s Global Emergency Response Team members in Houston, Texas. “We are really excited to be working again with ExxonMobil, this time to help their Global Emergency Response Team members improve their understanding of situational awareness and high-risk decision making.
Gasaway Safety Solutions slated to present to ExxonMobil Global Emergency Response Team Read More »
This episode is part 2 of a 2-part presentation where we talk about how stress can impact memory and recall. Length: 34 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
The Impact of Stress on Memory and Recall – Part 2 (Episode 295) Read More »
The foundation for developing situational awareness is perception – using your senses to gather information about what is happening around you. In lay terms, we call it paying attention. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to develop strong situational awareness if you are not paying attention to what is happening around you. For better
Weapons of Mass Distraction Read More »
This episode is part 1 of a 2-part presentation where we talk about how stress can impact memory and recall. Length: 30 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
The Impact of Stress on Memory and Recall – Part 1 (Episode 294) Read More »
Understaffing can have a big impact on first responder safety. We all know that. But it can also have a huge impact on first responder situational awareness… more than I ever imagined. I have experienced understaffing issues many times throughout my career but I never gave much thought to how my situational awareness was being
Understaffing Impacts Situational Awareness Read More »
