In a recent Mental Management of Emergencies program, we were talking about multitasking. During the discussion I explained what happens when a person attempts to multitask the act of paying of attention – which is neurologically impossible by the way. This turned the discussion to a sobriety test administered by police officers called the Divided […]
Divided Attention Test Read More »
In this episode we discuss the cognitive bias known as herd mentality (or herd behavior). Length: 31 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 level, check out the Situational Awareness Matters Online Academy. CLICK HERE for details, enrollment
Episode 193 | Herd Mentality Read More »
One of the situational awareness best practices discussed during the Fifty Ways to Kill a First Responder program is the role played by the dispatcher during an emergency incident. As I have discussed this many times with first responders throughout the United States I have come to the conclusion that in some jurisdictions the dispatcher
Dispatchers Role in Situational Awareness Read More »
This episode is an interview with DuPont Fire Chief Larry Creekmore. Chief Creekmore was the third-in unit to the December 18, 2017 Amtrak train derailment in Washington state. Length: 56 minutes click the YouTube icon to listen __________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational awareness and
Episode 192 | Amtrak Train Derailment Interview with Larry Creekmore Read More »
One of the most frequent questions I get asked during the Mental Management of Emergencies and Fifty Ways to Kill a First Responder programs is: How can a novice responder develop expert knowledge when the number of fires are going down? It’s a great question and a great concern because so much of situational awareness
Developing Situational Awareness in Novice Responders Read More »
This episode is Part 2 of my interview with Norfolk Assistant Fire Chief John DiBacco talking about the after-action review process used by Norfolk Fire to learn lessons from significant incidents. Length: 44 minutes click the YouTube icon to listen __________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of
Episode 191 | Interview with Norfolk Assistant Fire Chief John DiBacco – Part 2 Read More »
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
Culture And Situational Awareness Read More »
Episode 190 is Part 1 of a 2-part interview with Norfolk Assistant Fire Chief John DiBacco talking about the after-action review process used by Norfolk Fire to learn lessons from significant incidents. Length: 36 minutes click the YouTube icon to listen __________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of
Episode 190 | Interview with Norfolk Assistant Fire Chief John DiBacco – Part 1 Read More »
Perhaps you’ve heard it said that we are creatures of habit. The more we do something over and over again, the more likely that behavior will be turned into a habit. But what happens in the mystical world of the brain when a behavior becomes a habit? Is your behavior under stress predictable? Rational? Understandable?
Creatures of Habit Read More »
This episode discusses the cognitive overload that can occur when there is too much verbal information to process. Length: 31 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 level, check out the Situational Awareness Matters
Episode 189 | Communications Overload Read More »
