Category Archives: Stress
Staffing Levels Impact Situational Awareness
Research has demonstrated that, without question, stress can have significant impacts on situational awareness (SA). Stress can narrow your attention, cause task fixation, contribute to heightened awareness of non-critical information (at the detriment of more critical information) and so much … Continue reading
Posted in Crew Resource Management, Decision Making, firefighter situational awareness, Safety, Situational awareness, Staffing, Stress
Tagged decision making, fire department staffing, firefighter safety, incident command, leadership, situational awareness, staffing, stress, understaffing
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Radio Traffic Can Improve or Destroy Situational Awareness
When it comes to first responder radio traffic I am reminded of the tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. You may recall that in the story Goldilocks samples three bowls of porridge. One is too hot. One is too … Continue reading
Posted in Attention Management, Auditory exclusion, Communications, Complacency, Decision Making, Distractions and Interruptions, Emotions, Fear, firefighter situational awareness, human factors, Information overload, Neuroscience, Safety, Situational awareness, Stress, Training, Tunneled Senses
Tagged decision making, dispatch, emergency management, EMT, fire, fire command, fire command training, fire training, firefighter safety, firefighter situational awareness, fireground command, fireground command decision making, fireground commander, fireground safety, haz-mat, hazardous materials, officer safety, paramedic, patient care, police officer safety, public safety, radio communications, rescue, responder safety, safety, Situational awareness matters, tactical decision making, technical rescue
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Using the simulation environment to improve situational awareness
Many first responder training programs use simulation in the development of decision making competencies. Simulation exercises help develop skills in setting strategy and tactics, in applying policies and procedures and in developing critical thinking skills. But how can simulations be … Continue reading
Posted in Communications, Crew Resource Management, Decision Making, Human Behavior, human factors, Information overload, Mental Models, Neuroscience, Safety, Simulation, Situational awareness, Stress, Technology, Training, Workload Management
Tagged decision making, decision making under stress, fire service leadership, firefighter safety, firefighter situational awareness, high reliability organizations, leadership, mental models, mindfulness, problem solving, resiliency, resilient problem solving, safety, sense making, Simulation, situational awareness, Situational awareness matters, staffing, teamwork, training
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Firefighting: It’s a whole new ballgame
There is little doubt the recent recession has had a significant impact on the nation’s fire service. Hardly a day goes by where there’s not some news about an organization that had downsized, rightsized or capsized. There are all kinds … Continue reading
Posted in Accountability, Complacency, Crew Resource Management, Culture, Decision Making, Emotions, Fear, Human Behavior, Leadership, Mayday and RIT, Personnel location, Risk Assessment, Safety, Situational awareness, Situational Readiness, Staffing, Standard Operating Procedures/Guidelines, Stress, Teamwork, Training, Workload Management
Tagged decision making, decision making under stress, fire service leadership, firefighter safety, firefighter situational awareness, high reliability organizations, leadership, organizational culture, problem solving, resiliency, resilient problem solving, safety, situational awareness, staffing, teamwork, training
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Aggressiveness and Situational Awareness
I was recently contacted by email from a Situational Awareness Matters member asking if aggressiveness and safety can co-exist at an emergency scene. My answer was “of course they can.” The two actions, being safe and being aggressive are not … Continue reading
Posted in building construction, Crew Resource Management, Decision Making, Emotions, Human Behavior, Safety, Situational awareness, size-up, Staffing, Stress, Teamwork, Training
Tagged aggressive tactics, decision making, firefighter safety, firefighter situational awareness, incident command, situational awareness, size up
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Twelve Ways to Situational Awareness
Ho, Ho, Ho. Merry Christmas everyone! I know everyone’s feeling particularly festive this time of year and I have caught the Christmas spirit in a very situational awareness sort of way. Surely you’ve heard of the “Twelve Days of Christmas.” … Continue reading
Posted in Communications, Complacency, Culture, Decision Making, Gasaway Consulting Group, human factors, Incompetence, Information overload, Safety, Situational awareness, Situational Readiness, size-up, Staffing, Stress, Teamwork, Training, Workload Management
Tagged communications, decision making under stress, firefighter casualties, firefighter safety, fireground command, public safety, safety, situational awareness, staffing, teamwork, training, vigilance
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5 tips for improving situational awareness through training
The overall number of structure fires are down nationwide. For the sake of the citizens we protect, this is a good thing. But for the sake of firefighters who need to gain valuable experience through the proverbial baptism by fire, … Continue reading
Posted in Crew Resource Management, Decision Making, Emotions, firefighter situational awareness, Human Behavior, human factors, Mental Models, Repetition, Safety, Simulation, Situational awareness, Stress, Training
Tagged decision making, firefighter safety, firefighter situational awareness, hindsight bias, incident command, judging, judgment, leadership, mental models, pattern matching, realistic training, repetitive training, situational awareness
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