In this episode I sit down with Dave Dodson, the creator of the Art of Reading Smoke Program and co-author of the Art of Reading Buildings book to discuss his passion for helping firefighter read smoke and buildings. Length: 45 minutes click the YouTube icon to listen _____________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your […]
Episode 66: Dave Dodson Interview Read More »
One of the foundations of situational awareness development is being able to make accurate predictions of future events. Making (accurate) predictions is a fairly complex neurological process that relies heavily on gathering information, comprehending the meaning of the information, tapping into your stored knowledge of past experiences, trusting your intuition and using your imagination to
Unexpected information can be a barrier to situational awareness Read More »
Situational awareness starts with capturing clues and cues in your environment (perception) and then understanding what those clues and cues mean (comprehension). At a structure fire, the process of capturing information should involve a complete 360-degree size-up of the scene. Many departments have policies that stipulate the completion of a 360-degree size up. Yet,
Episode 65: Conducting the 360 size-up Read More »
For those who have been along for the journey from the launch of the Situational Awareness Matters mission, thank you so much for your dedication and support. I really appreciate it! For those who may be newer, welcome and thank you for joining the community of learners. During SAMatters Tour stops I get asked a
A Tour of SAMatters Read More »
On Christmas Day in 2010 the Valley Fire & Rescue Department responded to a residential dwelling fire that resulted in two close call survivor events. Length: 55 minutes click the YouTube icon to listen _____________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational awareness and high-risk decision making to a higher
Episode 64: Interview with Close Call Survivor Nick Miller Read More »
During SAMatters Tour events there are lots of discussion happening among attendees and some great questions being asked. This episode addresses some of the questions fielded during live events. Length: 27 minutes click the YouTube icon to listen _____________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational awareness and high-risk decision
Episode 63: SA Q &A Session Read More »
The process of developing situational awareness starts with capturing information using the five senses. Then, the information must be understood. And finally, once the information is understood, a prediction is made about future outcomes. This process can be challenged when staffing is unpredictable.
Unpredictable staffing: A barrier to situational awareness Read More »
One of the essential components of well-developed situational awareness is being able to accurately predict the future. This prediction should be made during the initial scene size up and then it should be updated often as the incident progresses. In this episode we discuss the need to begin with the end in mind will
Episode 61: Begin with the end in mind: A situational awareness best practice Read More »
On this episode we discuss how to make decisions in dynamically changing environments and the importance of using situational awareness as the foundation for making good decisions under stress. It is the decisions that first responders make, while operating in high stress, high consequence, time compressed environments (using situational awareness) that drive successful or unsuccessful
Episode 60: Explaining the Dynamic Decision Making Process Read More »
This episode explores Tachypsychia, a neurological condition that results in the distortion of time. While there can be several causes, we’re going to focus on emergency scene stress as the trigger. Length: 40 minutes click the YouTube icon to listen _____________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational awareness and
Episode 59: Understanding Time Distortion Read More »
