fire service leadership Archives - Situational Awareness Matters!™

Using the Simulation Environment to Improve Situational Awareness

10 Comments / Article, Communications, Crew Resource Management, Decision Making, Human Behavior, Human Factors, Information overload, Mental Models, Neuroscience, Safety, Simulation, Situational awareness, Stress, Technology, Training, Workload Management / Rich Gasaway

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. How can simulations be used in the development of situational awareness skills? The answer lies, in part, in understanding what situational […]

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Expectations can Impact Situational Awareness

2 Comments / Accountability, Article, Competency, Culture, Decision Making, Ego, Emotions, Fear, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Human Factors, Safety, Situational awareness, Stress / Rich Gasaway

Towering Inferno… Backdraft… Ladder 49… Emergency… Adam 12… Dragnet… Rescue Me… Chicago Fire… Hawaii Five O … Love them or hate them, movies and television influence perceptions and create expectations three ways: First, they influence citizen perceptions of emergency service providers and create certain performance expectations. Second, they influence first responders’ perceptions of themselves and

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Firefighting: It’s a whole new ballgame

6 Comments / Accountability, Article, 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 / Rich Gasaway

There is little doubt the economic recession of 2008-2009 had a significant impact on the nation’s fire service. Hardly a day went by where there wasn’t some news about an organization that downsized, rightsized or capsized. There are all kinds of explanations and terms being attached to what happened. One I heard at the time

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Culture And Situational Awareness

3 Comments / Accountability, Article, Communications, Complacency, Culture, Decision Making, Ego, Emotions, Fear, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Human Behavior, Leadership, Safety, Situational awareness, Teamwork / Rich Gasaway

Each member of an emergency response team is guided by a unique system of values, beliefs, assumptions and norms. Every member also brings their own unique habits and routines. What happens when you combine the values, beliefs, assumptions, norms, habits and routines of many unique individuals within an organization? You create culture. Organizational culture can

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Mission Myopia: A situational awareness barrier

Leave a Comment / Attention Management, Complacency, Crew Resource Management, Decision Making, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Human Factors, Repetition, Risk Assessment, Safety, Simulation, Situational awareness, Size Up, Stress, Tacit Knowledge, Training, Tunneled Senses / Rich Gasaway

Every emergency scene operation should begin with determining the mission (sometimes called strategy) and setting task-level goals (sometimes called tactics). Strategy and tactics establish what is to be done and how it is to be done. For example, at a structure fire, arriving responders are trained to conduct search and rescue operations and to extinguish

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