I have many opportunities to talk with first responders about the importance of having Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) or Standard Operating Guidelines (SOGs). These documents are essential to the safety of responders because they set the standard for training and for incident operations. [clickandtweet handle=”RichGasaway” hashtag=”#situationalawareness” related=”samatters” layout=”” position=””]Let’s look at why SOPs or […]
No SOPs = No Game Plan Read More »
This episode is the final installment of a nine-part serious on dangerous mindsets that first responders can develop and I offer some advice for dealing with each. This week we talk about the synergist mindset. Length: 24 minutes Click the YouTube icon to listen _____________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of
Episode 159 | Dangerous Mindsets – The Synergist Read More »
Developing and maintaining situational awareness at an emergency scene can be a very challenging task. Scenes are often stressful, complex, time-compressed, and complicated with rapidly-changing conditions. Responders have lots of information to process and many tasks to perform. And, sadly, situational awareness isn’t always the forefront on their minds. Under such conditions, meta awareness
This episode is part eight of a nine-part serious on dangerous mindsets that first responders can develop and I offer some advice for dealing with each. This week we talk about the slacker mindset. Length: 26 minutes click the YouTube icon to listen _____________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational
Episode 158 | Dangerous Mindsets – The Slacker Read More »
At 2:04 AM, the fire department was dispatched for a fire in a commercial building. Upon arrival, the first engine reports a working fire and commences with the interior fire attack. Upon entry, the engine crew reports high heat conditions and low visibility, but they pressed onward. Situational awareness is marginal. Soon the second engine and
Risk Versus Reward Read More »
This episode is part seven of a nine-part serious on dangerous mindsets that first responders can develop and I offer some advice for dealing with each. This week we talk about the super hero mindset. Length: 26 minutes click the YouTube icon to listen _____________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding
Episode 157 | Dangerous Mindsets – The Super Hero Read More »
The inspiration for this article comes from Situational Awareness Matters member and Fire Chief, Todd Johnson, and the members of the Woodbury Fire Department. I was invited to observe a skills-based training evaluation that was more than a year in the making and involved over 100 practice exercises. The crews were dispatched to a structure
Crawl, Walk, Run Theory of Skill Development Read More »
This episode marks the third anniversary of the SAMatters Radio Podcast Show. Dr. Gasaway takes the listeners for a walk down memory lane about how the SAMatters mission got started. Length: 42 minutes click the YouTube icon to listen _____________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational awareness and high-risk
Episode 156 | Third Anniversary Celebration Read More »
I had an amazing conversation with a firefighter recently about situational awareness following a program and I just had to share it with you. He asked how many of the 26 fire departments represented in the room had a process in their Mayday/rapid intervention procedures for canceling a Mayday. Hearing the answer…I was stunned!
How to Cancel the Mayday Read More »
This episode is part six of a nine-part serious on dangerous mindsets that first responders can develop and I offer some advice for dealing with each. This week we talk about the Silent member. Length: 29 minutes click the YouTube icon to listen _____________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of
Episode155 | Dangerous Mindsets – The Silent Read More »
