Assertiveness Archives - Situational Awareness Matters!™

Burned while searching for a fire victim. The Jeremy Saul Story – 392

Leave a Comment / Article, Assertiveness, Assumptions, Automatic Action, Building Construction, Close Call, Communications, Culture, Decision Making, Disoriented, Expectations, Experience, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Judgment, Mindfulness, Miscommunications, Mission, Mission Myopia, Near Miss, Optimism, Over Confident, Perception Of Reality, Personal Protective Equipment, Personnel location, Pressure, Risk, Risk Management, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Situational awareness, Size Up, Stress, Tunnel Vision / By Rich Gasaway

Captain Jeremy Saul, a Situational Awareness Matters Certified Master Instructor shared a harrowing story about being burned while searching for a three-year old child trapped in a row home fire in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The interview includes a discussion about lessons learned and some of his favorite topics to teach during situational awareness classes. Episode …

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Complacency: A Lesson Worth Sharing – The Eric Wappel Story – 390

Leave a Comment / Assertiveness, Assumptions, Attention Management, Attitude, Biases, Bravado, Communications, Culture, Decision Making, Denial, Ego, Emotions, Expectations, Experience, Fear, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Gut Feeling, Human Behavior, Human Error, Human Factors, Intuition, Invincible, Judgment, Leadership, Meta Awareness, Mindfulness, Mission, Neuroscience, Overload, Overwhelm, Personnel location, Pressure, Risk, Risk Assessment, Risk Management, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Shared Mental Models, Situational awareness, Situational Readiness, Size Up, Stress, Tacit Knowledge, Teamwork, Training / By Rich Gasaway

Captain Eric Wappel shares a tale of complacency and how he faced it head-on with his department. On January 3, 2022, the North Judson – Wayne Township Fire Department was dispatched for the second time to the same residence for a “furnace smoking.” Captain Eric Wappel wasn’t available for the first response, but responded to …

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The Violence Project: How to stop a mass shooting epidemic. An interview with Dr. James Densley – 389

This episode is an interview is with Dr. James Densley, discussing his book: The Violence Project: How to stop a mass shooting epidemic. Dr. James Densley is Professor and Department Chair of Criminal Justice at Metro State University, part of the Minnesota State system. He is also co-founder of The Violence Project Research Center, best …

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What first responders need to know about explosives: The Jarred Alden Interview. Part 1 – SAM 381

1 Comment / Accountability, Assertiveness, Close Call, Communications, Decision Making, Equipment, Expectations, Experience, Explicit Knowledge, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Judgment, Mental Models, Mission, Near Miss, Perception, Prediction, Risk, Risk Assessment, Risk Management, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Shared Mental Models, Situational awareness, Size Up, Teamwork, Training, understaffing / By Rich Gasaway

This episode is part 1 of a 2-part interview Akron (OH) Fire Lieutenant Jarred Alden shares what we need to know about homemade explosive devices, blast effect, treating blast injury victims, and more. Lieutenant Alden is a paramedic and operations officer for the Akron (OH) Fire Department. He has 17+ years of experience as a …

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Preventing a Mass Shooter Event: The Darin Wall Story SAM 379

Leave a Comment / Assertiveness, Assumptions, Attention Management, Attitude, Decision Making, Gut Feeling, Human Behavior, Hyper Vigilance, Intuition, Judgment, Mindfulness, Perception, Prediction, Risk, Risk Assessment, SAMatters Radio, Situational awareness, Size Up, Vigilance / By Rich Gasaway

This episode interviews a man whose situational awareness and intuition helped him prevent a mass shooting event in Boise, Idaho. On September 4, Grayhawk bass player, Darin Wall, stopped a potential mass shooting by preventing a man from gaining entry into a private party at an event where the band had played earlier in the …

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Peer Pressure – SAM 356

Leave a Comment / Assertiveness, Attitude, Bravado, Communications, Crew Resource Management, Culture, Decision Making, Ego, Emotions, Expectations, Fear, Frustration, Human Behavior, Human Error, Human Factors, Insubordination, Invincible, Judgment, Leadership, Neuroscience, Over Confident, Pressure, Progress Reports, Risk, Risk Management, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Situational awareness, Teamwork, Under Confident / By Rich Gasaway

This episode explores our basic human desire to be liked and respected. Not only do we want to be liked, but we also have a very strong internal drive to avoid embarrassment. These traits of human behavior can result in peer pressure that can, in turn, impact your situational awareness. First responders spend a …

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The Jason Corthell Story. The Next Chapter. Part 2 – SAM 348

Leave a Comment / Accountability, Anger, Assertiveness, Attitude, Close Call, Communications, Crew Resource Management, Culture, Decision Making, Denial, Disoriented, Emotions, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Human Behavior, Illness, Judgment, Mayday, Mayday and RIT, Near Miss, Personal Protective Equipment, Personnel location, Physical Fitness, Radios, Repetition, Risk, Risk Assessment, Risk Management, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Situational awareness, Situational Readiness, Teamwork / By Rich Gasaway

On March 27, 2015, Cypress Creek District Chief Jason Corthell was trapped and injured during a fire where a stairwell unexpectedly collapsed at an apartment building fire in Texas. This is Part 2 of his follow-up story and the road to physical and mental recovery. Back on Episode 55, then Cypress Creek Lieutenant Jason Corthell …

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The Jason Corthell Story. The Next Chapter. Part 1 – SAM 347

On March 27, 2015, Cypress Creek District Chief Jason Corthell was trapped and injured during a fire where a stairwell unexpectedly collapsed at an apartment building fire in Texas. This the follow-up story of his road to physical and mental recovery. Back on Episode 55, then Cypress Creek Lieutenant Jason Corthell shared his close call …

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Bravado – A barrier to situational awareness (Episode 327)

Accountability, Anger, Assertiveness, Attitude, Bravado, Command Location, Communications, Competency, Complacency, Culture, Decision Making, Defiance, Denial, Ego, Emotions, Experience, Fear, Frustration, Human Behavior, Human Error, Human Factors, Incompetence, Invincible, Over Confident, Pressure, Risk, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Selective Listening, Sensory Conflict, Under Confident / By Rich Gasaway

Bravado is defined as “a bold manner or a show of boldness intended to impress or intimidate.” A co-worker or boss displaying bravado can be dangerous because their need to impress or intimidate can cause them to miss critical clues and cues and flaw their situational awareness. Length: 12 minutes Click the YouTube icon to …

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What we fear most Part 2 (Episode 325)

Accountability, Assertiveness, Assumptions, Attitude, Bravado, Communications, Competency, Culture, Decision Making, Defiance, Denial, Ego, Emotions, Experience, Fear, Frustration, Human Behavior, Human Factors, Insubordination, Invincible, Leadership, Miscommunications, Pressure, Progress Reports, Risk, Risk Assessment, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Stress, Teamwork, Under Confident / By Rich Gasaway

The fear of public speaking consistently ranks near the top of the list in fear surveys. This won’t come as a surprise for many. But the consequences of not speaking up can be catastrophic for organizations and for the individual gripped by this fear. This episode explores the fear of public speaking and offers some …

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