Command Location

These are the first responder situational awareness and decision making issues and opportunities related to command location.

Unmanned and Remote Emergency Services – The Ron Warren Interview – 391

  While presenting a situational awareness program for the Fireman’s Association of Tioga County, Pennsylvania, one of the participants was Ron Warren.  Ron is the founder and Department Chief of North Central PA Unmanned Emergency Services. He is a full-time state law enforcement officer and a veteran of the US Army, where he served two …

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First-in engine under gunfire: The Chris Paskett Interview: Part 2 – SAM 385

This is part 2 of a 2-part interview with Eugene-Springfield Fire Battalion Chief Chris Paskett sharing details of a first-in engine crew at a working structure fire taking on gunfire. Eugene-Springfield crews were dispatched to a report of a residential fire with multiple callers confirming a residential dwelling fire.  As the officer on the first-in …

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First-in engine under gunfire: The Chris Paskett Interview: Part 1 – SAM 384

This is part 1 of a 2-part interview with Eugene-Springfield Fire Battalion Chief Chris Paskett sharing details of a first-in engine crew at a working structure fire taking on gunfire. Eugene-Springfield crews were dispatched to a report of a residential fire with multiple callers confirming a residential dwelling fire.  As the officer on the first-in …

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Six Red Flags for Danger – SAM 361

In this episode we discuss six red flags for danger that may get overlooked or ignored at a structure fire.       The red flags discussed in the episode are clues and cues that provide conscious (overt) awareness of what is going on or subconscious (covert) awareness of what may be going on. The red flags …

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Working Command – SAM 360

In this episode explores how situational awareness may be impacted when the first arriving officer establishes a “working command.” I get asked a lot of questions about what the first arriving company officer should do at a working structure fire. Specifically, the debate revolves around two basic premise. Should the first arriving company officer assume …

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19 Ways Communications can Impact SA – SAM 359

In this episode we discuss 19 ways that communications issues can impact Situational Awareness.     First responders spend a lot of time together, on calls, in the station, and in many cases in social settings outside of work. All of this interaction builds relationships that allow responders to trust their lives to each other. We’ll …

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Conducting Realistic Fire Training – SAM 358

In this episode we put the shoe on the other foot… and I am interviewed by Chris Crawford is a firefighter with the Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania Fire Department and a Public Administration major at Point Park University. Chris was writing a paper on firefighter training for his Applications of Fire Research Class and asked to …

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Five Situational Awareness Lessons from a LODD Incident – SAM 354

On June 2, 2011, the San Francisco Fire Department suffered the tragic loss of 2 firefighters at 133 Berkeley Way. The episode shares some valuable situational awareness lessons from this tragic incident. The San Francisco Fire Department conducted an internal review of the incident and issued a 156-page report on their findings. Many of the …

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Seven Situational Awareness Thieves (Episode 330)

You might think that by now the importance of completing a 360-degree size-up would be second nature for firefighters.  But it’s not.  In fact, failing to complete a proper size-up remains one of the most often cited contributing factors in NIOSH Line-of-Duty death reports.  There are lots of reasons why proper size-ups are not completed. …

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Bravado – A barrier to situational awareness (Episode 327)

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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