mayday

Ignoring the Signs of Danger

7 Comments / Accountability, Article, Communications, Complacency, Crew Resource Management, Culture, Decision Making, Fear, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Human Behavior, Safety, Situational awareness, Size Up, Teamwork, Tunneled Senses /

A lesson on situational awareness: The tones drop for a reported residential fire. On the way to the call, dispatch reports multiple calls, confirming a working fire. On arrival the crew sees fire blowing out the B-C corner of the single story, detached residential dwelling. The resident is standing in the front yard. A quick […]

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Mayday Radio Channel

11 Comments / Article, Communications, Crew Resource Management, Decision Making, Equipment, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Human Behavior, Human Factors, Mayday and RIT, Safety, Situational awareness, Situational Readiness, Standard Operating Procedures/Guidelines, Stress, Teamwork, Training /

I recently was contacted by a fire officer asking whether their mayday procedure should include a provision for a dedicated mayday channel for the distressed crew to transmit their post-mayday traffic on. This is a question I’ve been asked often enough that I want to dedicate an article to the topic of mayday communications procedures.

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The Jason Corthell Story. The Next Chapter. Part 1 – SAM 347

Leave a Comment / Accountability, Anger, Assertiveness, Attitude, Close Call, Communications, Crew Resource Management, Culture, Decision Making, Denial, Disoriented, Emotions, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Human Behavior, Illness, Judgment, Mayday, Mayday and RIT, Near Miss, Personal Protective Equipment, Personnel location, Physical Fitness, Radios, Repetition, Risk, Risk Assessment, Risk Management, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Situational awareness, Situational Readiness, Teamwork /

On March 27, 2015, Cypress Creek District Chief Jason Corthell was trapped and injured during a fire where a stairwell unexpectedly collapsed at an apartment building fire in Texas.  This the follow-up story of his road to physical and mental recovery. Back on Episode 55, then Cypress Creek Lieutenant Jason Corthell shared his close call

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Commercial Building Mayday. The Atascocita Fire Story – Part 2 (Episode 304)

Leave a Comment / Accountability, Assumptions, Attention Management, Benchmarks, Building Construction, Checklists, Close Call, Cognitive Memory, Command Location, Command Presence, Command Support, Communications, Complacency, Confusion, Crew Resource Management, Decision Making, Equipment, Expectations, Experience, Gut Feeling, Habits, Judgment, Leadership, Mayday, Mayday and RIT, Miscommunications, Mission, Muscle Memory, Near Miss, Optimism, Over Confident, Personal Protective Equipment, Personnel location, Radios, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Size Up, Staffing, Standard Operating Procedures/Guidelines, Teamwork, Time Distortion, Training /

Today’s episode is Part 2 of my 2-part interview with three command officers from the Atascocita Fire Department in Houston, Texas, sharing a story of a commercial building fire that resulted in a mayday. Length: 63 minutes   Click the YouTube icon to watch the full VIDEO     __________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking

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Commercial Building Mayday. The Atascocita Fire Story – Part 1 (Episode 303)

Leave a Comment / Accountability, Assumptions, Attention Management, Benchmarks, Building Construction, Checklists, Close Call, Cognitive Memory, Command Location, Command Presence, Command Support, Communications, Complacency, Confusion, Crew Resource Management, Decision Making, Equipment, Expectations, Experience, Gut Feeling, Habits, Judgment, Leadership, Mayday, Mayday and RIT, Miscommunications, Mission, Muscle Memory, Near Miss, Optimism, Over Confident, Personal Protective Equipment, Personnel location, Radios, Routines, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Size Up, Staffing, Standard Operating Procedures/Guidelines, Teamwork, Time Distortion, Training /

Today’s episode is Part 1 of my 2-part interview with three command officers from the Atascocita Fire Department in Houston, Texas, sharing a story of a commercial building fire that resulted in a mayday. Length: 67 minutes   Click the YouTube icon to watch the full VIDEO     __________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking

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Trapped Under A Ceiling Collapse. The Ron Hunter Story (Episode 291)

Leave a Comment / Accountability, Assumptions, Attention Management, Automatic Action, Building Construction, Checklists, Close Call, Communications, Confusion, Crew Resource Management, Decision Making, Disoriented, Gut Feeling, Intuition, Mayday, Mayday and RIT, Mental Models, Mindfulness, Miscommunications, Mission Myopia, Over Confident, Personnel location, Progress Reports, Risk, Risk Assessment, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Time Distortion, Training /

In this episode, I interview Spartanburg Fire Lieutenant, Ron Hunter, as he recounts the mayday and RIT activation after being trapped under a collapsed ceiling at an apartment building fire. Length: 71 minutes Click the YouTube icon to watch the full VIDEO     __________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational awareness

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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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Thornton Fire Mayday Story – Part 3 (Episode 258)

Leave a Comment / Accountability, Assumptions, Attention Management, Attitude, Auditory exclusion, Automatic Action, Benchmarks, Building Construction, Close Call, Communications, Complacency, Confusion, Crew Resource Management, Decision Making, Disoriented, Expectations, Experience, Judgment, Lost Focus, Mayday, Mayday and RIT, Miscommunications, Over Confident, Personnel location, Pre Arrival Lens, Radios, Risk, Routines, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Selective Listening, Size Up, Staffing, Task Fixation, Teamwork /

This interview is part 3 of a 3-part series detailing the events surrounding Thornton Fire-Medic Roy Lapid mayday call, rescue from the basement and lessons learned. Length: 65 minutes     Click the YouTube icon to watch the full VIDEO     __________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational awareness and high-risk

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Thornton Fire Mayday Story – Part 2 (Episode 257)

Leave a Comment / Accountability, Assumptions, Attention Management, Attitude, Auditory exclusion, Benchmarks, Building Construction, Close Call, Communications, Complacency, Confusion, Crew Resource Management, Decision Making, Disoriented, Expectations, Experience, Judgment, Lost Focus, Mayday, Mayday and RIT, Miscommunications, Over Confident, Personnel location, Pre Arrival Lens, Radios, Risk, Routines, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Selective Listening, Size Up, Staffing, Task Fixation, Teamwork /

This interview is part 2 of a 3-part series detailing the events surrounding Thornton Fire-Medic Roy Lapid mayday call, rescue from the basement and lessons learned. Length: 57 minutes     Click the YouTube icon to watch the full VIDEO     __________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational awareness and high-risk

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Thornton Fire Mayday Story. Part 1 (Episode 256)

Leave a Comment / Accountability, Assumptions, Attention Management, Attitude, Auditory exclusion, Automatic Action, Benchmarks, Building Construction, Close Call, Communications, Complacency, Confusion, Crew Resource Management, Decision Making, Disoriented, Expectations, Experience, Judgment, Lost Focus, Mayday, Mayday and RIT, Miscommunications, Over Confident, Personnel location, Pre Arrival Lens, Radios, Risk, Routines, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Selective Listening, Size Up, Staffing, Task Fixation, Teamwork /

This interview is part 1 of a 3-part series detailing the events surrounding Thornton Fire-Medic Roy Lapid mayday call, rescue from the basement and lessons learned. Length: 68 minutes     Click the YouTube icon to watch the full VIDEO     __________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational awareness and high-risk

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