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Deadly Methyl Bromide exposure: The Misty Worrell story – Part 2 (Episode 324)

Misty Worrell and her partner on Cypress Creek EMS responded to a medical call that would result in two fatalities and the EMS crew being exposed to deadly Methyl Bromide.  Because there is no cure for Methyl Bromide poisoning, Misty, a mother of five children, was instructed to get her affairs in order as she […]

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Deadly Methyl Bromide exposure: The Misty Worrell story – Part 1 (Episode 323)

Misty Worrell and her partner on Cypress Creek EMS responded to a medical call that would result in two fatalities and the EMS crew being exposed to deadly Methyl Bromide.  Because there is no cure for Methyl Bromide poisoning, Misty, a mother of five children, was instructed to get her affairs in order as she

Deadly Methyl Bromide exposure: The Misty Worrell story – Part 1 (Episode 323) Read More »

Unexpected Information Can Be a Barrier to Situational Awareness

One of the foundations of situational awareness development is being able to make accurate predictions of future events. Making (accurate) predictions is a fairly complex neurological process that relies heavily on gathering information, comprehending the meaning of the information, tapping into your stored knowledge of past experiences, trusting your intuition and using your imagination to

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Mission Myopia

The tones drop for an apartment building fire. On the way, dispatch is advising multiple calls, confirming a working fire and the possibility of people trapped. The mind of the officer on the aerial platform is busy processing – thinking – anticipating – what will need to be done upon arrival? Of course, truck work

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What You Don’t See Can Save You

I dedicate a lot of time during my situational awareness programs ensuring that first responders understand how clues and cues serve as the foundation for developing and maintaining good situational awareness. We also spend considerable time making the connection of how strong situational awareness becomes the foundation for good decision making. For the most part,

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Team Situational Awareness

This is going to be an uncomfortable conversation as we talk about assessing your team to identify your weak links – the members who are not adequately trained, prepared or fit to perform the duties of a firefighter. During my SA programs, we talk about the need to complete a situational awareness “size-up” of the

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Interruptions Can Be a Barrier To Situational Awareness

  Like many of you, I do my best work when I am not interrupted. Whether it’s someone trying to carry on a conversation, a phone ringing or a text message, an interruption disrupts the train of thought. And when the train of thought is disrupted, situational awareness can be adversely impacted.

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Herd mentality can impact situational awareness

I was recently reading some research that mentioned the cognitive bias known as herd mentality (or herd behavior). Stated basically, individuals will group and follow each other for inexplicable reasons. This is sometimes referred to as the “mob mentality” and is observed during riots. When one person yells loudly and charges forward, the herd (or

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Helmet Cams and Risky Behaviors

I recently fielded a question from a Situational Awareness Matters member on the use of helmet cameras and the impact it might have on situational awareness. Here is the question: Would you please be so kind as to point me in the direction of literature, articles, websites or advice on the impact of personal cameras

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