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Rich Gasaway

Richard B. Gasaway served 33 years on the front lines as a firefighter, EMT-Paramedic and fire chief. He earned his Doctor of Philosophy degree while studying how individuals, teams and organizations develop and maintain situational awareness and make decisions in high stress, high consequence, time compressed environments. Dr. Gasaway is widely considered to be one of the nation's leading authorities on first responder situational awareness and decision making. His material has been featured and referenced in more than 400 book chapters, research projects, journal articles, podcasts, webinars and videos. His research and passion to improve workplace safety through improved situational awareness is unrivaled. Dr. Gasaway's leadership and safety programs have been presented to more than 42,000 first responders, emergency managers, medical providers, military personnel, aviation employees, industrial workers and business leaders throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

Situational Awareness Begins With Knowing Your Equipment

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 […]

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Episode 153 | Dangerous Mindsets – The Superior

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

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shared situational awareness

Shared Situational Awareness

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

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Episode 152 | Dangerous Mindsets – The Specialist

  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

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Explanations for Situational Awareness Insanity – Part 5

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

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The subordinate

Episode 151 | Dangerous Mindsets – The Subordinate

  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

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Episode 150 | Dangerous Mindsets – The Starter

  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

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Explanations for Situational Awareness Insanity – Part 4

  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

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Episode 149 | Mind Drift

In the episode we discuss how your mind can drift out of consciousness and the impact it can have on your situational awareness if it does. Length: 27 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

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Explanations for Situational Awareness Insanity – Part 3

This series is focused on the seemingly insane things that first responders do while operating in high-stress, high-consequence environments. Oftentimes, those trying to make sense of these behaviors are quick to judge the participants, saying things like: “How could they be so stupid?” or “What were they thinking?” or perhaps the worst one of all

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