On-Line Academy
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leadership
It’s Just a Vehicle Fire
I’d like to thank one of the loyal Situational Awareness Matters readers (whose name and department I am holding in confidence) for sending me a picture and a story about a van fire, no, a ‘routine van fire‘ his department had recently. On the arrival of the engine the officer reported a working fire and
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Working Command and Situational Awareness
I seem to be getting asked a lot lately about what the first arriving company officer should do at a working structure fire. Specifically, the debate revolves around two basic premise. Should the first arriving company officer assume a fixed command position outside the structure and coordinate the activities of incoming units? Or, should the
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Newly released program: Are you ready?
There’s a new breed of worker lining up to be your next member: Are you ready? Like it or not, here they come… The Generation Y first responder! Are you ready? There are 80 million of them and they’re going to be your next crop of new firefighters and EMS providers. They’re a force to be
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Tracking of personnel
Accountability: A critically important component to emergency scene safety when personnel operate in a hazardous environment. From the perspective of situational awareness, accountability plays several roles. The obvious role is personnel accountability facilitates the rapid deployment of rescue teams if something goes awry. Command knows the crew sizes and where they are operating at and
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Leadership Development Program in South Bend, Indiana
During the week of January 23-27 the Indiana Department of Homeland Security sponsored the Company Officer Development Institute in South Bend, Indiana. I had the pleasure of co-facilitating the program along with Patrick Harper from the Indianapolis Fire Department. We had 41 exceptional leaders in the program from South Bend, Elkhart, Valpariso, Notre Dame, Mishawaka,
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SA Matters to the Loveland Fire Rescue Authority
Thank you to Battalion Chief Rick Davis from the Loveland Fire Rescue Authority for sharing this article he wrote for Situational Awareness Matters. I had an opportunity to deliver a situational awareness program in Loveland for the North Range fire departments. When it comes to understanding the importance of firefighter situational awareness, Loveland Fire Rescue
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You Can’t Handle The Truth!
If you have attended one of my new Mental Management of Emergencies programs you have learned how stress is a game-changer when it comes to firefighter situational awareness and decision making quality. Most basic training programs focus on developing cognitive knowledge and physical skills. Far less address the impact of stress on situational awareness and
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Quality Simulations Build Situational Awareness
I recently visited the University of Central Florida Institute for Simulation and Training where I had the opportunity to meet with Dr. David Metcalf and several members of his staff. The purpose of the visit was to improve my understanding of how advancements in simulation can benefit first responders. The visit was very impressive.
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Welcome to SA Matters
Welcome to Situational Awareness Matters! Whether you got here from a redirect from my existing website (www.RichGasaway.com) or you found this site through a web search or a link from another site, welcome. I’m glad you’re here. This is SA Matters. The “SA” is the acronym for Situational Awareness and in the context of the
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