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Rich Gasaway

Richard B. Gasaway served 33 years on the front lines as a firefighter, EMT-Paramedic and fire chief. He earned his Doctor of Philosophy degree while studying how individuals, teams and organizations develop and maintain situational awareness and make decisions in high stress, high consequence, time compressed environments. Dr. Gasaway is widely considered to be one of the nation's leading authorities on first responder situational awareness and decision making. His material has been featured and referenced in more than 400 book chapters, research projects, journal articles, podcasts, webinars and videos. His research and passion to improve workplace safety through improved situational awareness is unrivaled. Dr. Gasaway's leadership and safety programs have been presented to more than 42,000 first responders, emergency managers, medical providers, military personnel, aviation employees, industrial workers and business leaders throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

Situational Awareness Matters!

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 cold. And the third is just right. This lesson applies directly to first responder situational […]

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Episode 114 | Noise Can Impact Situational Awareness

         In this episode, we explore how noise can impact situational awareness of first responders. Length: 30 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

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Situational Awareness Matters!

When Budgets Impact Staffing, Tactics Must Change

Throughout the fire service there are departments whose staffing has been reduced as a result of budget cuts. That is not going to come as a shock to most readers. What has been shocking for me, however, has been the response to my question of what fire department leaders are doing to ensure the situational

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Episode 113 | Six Red Flags for Danger

            In this episode we discuss six red flags for danger that may get overlooked or ignored at a structure fire. Length: 30 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,

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The Comfortable Routine of Complacency

We all know we have habits. Some of them are good habits. And some of them are…well… not so good. The less often talked about cousin of a habit is a routine. Habits and routines can impact situational awareness in both good and bad ways. [tweet this] But where do habits and routines come from?

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Episode 112 | Predicting Outcomes

          In this episode we discuss the process of predicting future outcomes – an important component in developing situational awareness. Length: 28 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

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Situational Awareness Matters

Radio Discipline

A frequent contributing factor in firefighter casualty incidents is too much radio traffic. This can have a significant impact on first responder situational awareness because it becomes near impossible to take in, process, comprehend and remember the volumes of information being transmitted over the radio when communication is not disciplined. This article explores some of

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Episode 111 | 19 Ways Communications can Impact Situational Awareness

            In this episode I share 19 ways that communications issues can impact Situational Awareness. Length: 37 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

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Situational Awareness Starts with the Size-Up

During my fireground situational awareness classes we talk about the process for making high-stress, high consequence decisions. The first step in this process is performing a rapid size up. When I ask participants how long they take to size up a single-family residential dwelling fire with no exposures, the answer I get ranges from 10

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Episode 110 | Live Events Q&A

            In this episode I share some of the more commonly asked questions that come up during live Situational Awareness events. Length: 51 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,

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