Oftentimes during situational awareness programs, participants will share stories of incidents they have responded to, or incidents they have read about, or videos of incidents they have watched where the incident ended in a significant near-miss or a casualty. This happened recently during a program where a firefighter with 20+ years of experience showed […]
The Rational Brain and Situational Awareness Read More »
This episode is part five 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 Stubborn, (a.k.a. The bull-headed). Length: 26 minutes click the YouTube icon to listen _____________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your
Episode 154 | Dangerous Mindsets – The Stubborn Read More »
I received an email from a firefighter who was frustrated, disappointed, and angry. He came to work for his shift and, as he always does, started his day by performing a safety check of his personal gear and his self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). When he opened the cabinet door on the apparatus he could hardly
Situational Awareness Begins With Knowing Your Equipment Read More »
This episode is part four 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 Superior, (a.k.a. The Boss). Length: 33 minutes click the YouTube icon to listen _____________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your
Episode 153 | Dangerous Mindsets – The Superior Read More »
Shared situational awareness simply means two or more people have a commonly understood mental model – a mental image of what’s happening… [tweet this] and what is going to happen in the future. When responders arrive at the scene of an emergency at different times (which is common), there is a risk that each person
Shared Situational Awareness Read More »
This episode is part three 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 Specialist, (a.k.a. The Know-it-all). Length: 33 minutes click the YouTube icon to listen _____________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your
Episode 152 | Dangerous Mindsets – The Specialist Read More »
This is going to be, admittedly, an uncomfortable read for some. But, nonetheless it is a conversation we need to have. I need to discuss the “F” word. No, not THAT “F” word. The “F” word that is more dreaded than the F-bomb – Fear. Many first responders enjoy discussing fear as much as they
Explanations for Situational Awareness Insanity – Part 5 Read More »
This episode is part two of a nine-part serious on dangerous mindsets that first responders can develop and I offer some advice for dealing with each. Length: 28 minutes click the YouTube icon to listen _____________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational awareness and high-risk decision making to
Episode 151 | Dangerous Mindsets – The Subordinate Read More »
In this episode we kick off a nine-part serious on dangerous mindsets that first responders develop and offer some advice for dealing with each. We start off with talking about the starter mindset. That’s the mindset of the brand new responder. It is, in many ways, different from seasoned responders. Length: 30 minutes click
Episode 150 | Dangerous Mindsets – The Starter Read More »
This article continues the series focusing on the seemingly-insane things that some first responders do while operating in high-stress, high-consequence environments. Oftentimes, the individuals trying to make sense of these behaviors are quick to judge those on the sharp of the decision by saying things like: “They weren’t paying attention?” or “How could they
Explanations for Situational Awareness Insanity – Part 4 Read More »
