In the business world it is not uncommon for executives to appoint someone on the senior staff to serve as the Devil’s Advocate (DA) when considering a major strategic decision. The role of the DA is to look at the strategy from a critical perspective and to raise objections about flaws in the strategy before […]
Appoint a DA to improve your SA Read More »
Firefighter Safety: Mistakes & Best Practices Program Length: 2 hours Format: Live (virtual) training and includes a live Q&A session with Dr. Gasaway When: On the date and time of your department’s regular training. Train all of your members for $999 Includes a recorded playback for members who cannot attend the live training. CLICK HERE to
Firefighter Safety: Mistakes & Best Practices – Virtual Program Read More »
I recently received an email from a firefighter asking for my opinion as to whether or not the administrative chief officers in his department should respond to reported structure fires. My initial response was: “Well, Duh! Yes!” But then I got to thinking about it more. How and when administrative chief officers respond to fires
Administrative chiefs and emergency responses Read More »
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 »
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 »
It has often been said: “A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.” [tweet this] This is true. Regardless of how fortified the individual links are, when the chain is stressed under a load, the breaking point will be the weakest link. The same can be said of situational awareness at an emergency scene.
Situational Awareness of Your Weakest Link Read More »
Welcome to the fourth and final article in the We Must Stop The Insanity situational awareness series. In case you missed the previous three articles (which I encourage you to go back and read) or if you need a refresher, indulge me as I do a little recap. In Part 1, I talked about flawed
We Must Stop The Insanity: Part 4 Read More »
Welcome to the third article in the four-part We Must Stop The Insanity situational awareness series. In case you missed the previous two articles (which I encourage you to go back and read) or if you need a refresher, indulge me as I do a little recap. In Part 1, I talked about flawed size-ups.
We Must Stop The Insanity: Part 3 Read More »
Is there such a thing? A “Minor” Mayday. [tweet this] A crew operating in an IDLH environment suddenly find themselves in a tough spot because _____ (you insert the reason). The crew leader’s situational awareness is, at least at that moment, strong as he or she immediately realizes the potential gravity of the situation and
The “Minor” Mayday 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 »
