Today’s episode is Part 1 of my 2-part interview with Laverne Friesen, a first responder who is confronting the stigma of mental illness head-on as he shares his first-hand account of how work-related stress was leading him down a dark path toward suicide. He shares intimate details of what that experience was like, how it […]
A Mental Health Mayday. The Laverne Friesen Story – Part 1 (Episode 301) Read More »
Your highest level of situational awareness is formed when you are able to make accurate predictions about future events. In science, we call this projection and it simply means you are able to predict, or project, future events. This is accomplished through mental models you develop that are founded in your training and experience. But
Time to Task Completion is Critical for Situational Awareness Read More »
In this episode, I interview the foremost fire service expert on fighting “heavy content” fires (aka, hoarded environments). The interview is packed with great ideas for first responders, and some tips for family members who are dealing with a family member afflicted with a hoarding disorder. Length: 57 minutes Click the YouTube icon to watch
Heavy Content Fires – The Ryan Pennington Interview (Episode 300) Read More »
You may or may not know there are researchers who dedicate their lives to understanding what makes someone an expert and how long it takes for them to acquire the knowledge to be an expert. One of the pioneers in the field of expert knowledge research is K. Anders Erickson. The findings of Dr. Erickson’s
You Can’t Rush Expertise Read More »
This episode is an interview with Midwest Fire Vice President and General Manager Brett Jensen, discussing the Midwest Fire way of doing business. Length: 58 minutes Click the YouTube icon to watch the full VIDEO __________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational awareness and high-risk decision making to a
The Midwest Fire Story – Brett Jensen Interview (Episode 299) Read More »
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,
What You Don’t See Can Save You Read More »
This episode is part 2 of a 2-part interview with Clearview Fire & EMS Chief Roree Payment, sharing the details of a residential dwelling fire near-miss where he was caught in a fireball due to rapidly changing, wind-driven conditions. Length: 51 minutes Click the YouTube icon to watch the full VIDEO __________________________________________________ If
Surrounded by Fire: The Roree Payment Story – Part 2 (Episode 298) Read More »
Flawed situational awareness (SA) is one of the leading contributing factors to first responder near-miss and casualty events. In fact, it is nearly impossible to find a line-of-duty death investigation report that does not implicate flawed SA, or one of the barriers that flaw SA, as contributing to the tragedy. As often as flawed SA
Situational Awareness: Think Past, Present & Future Read More »
This episode is part 1 of a 2-part interview with Clearview Fire & EMS Chief Roree Payment, sharing the details of a residential dwelling fire near-miss where he was caught in a fireball due to rapidly changing, wind-driven conditions. Length: 47 minutes Click the YouTube icon to watch the full VIDEO __________________________________________________ If
Surrounded by Fire: The Roree Payment Story – Part 1 (Episode 297) Read More »
It’s an odd term – normalization of deviance. But the term and the premise behind the term provides a valuable explanation as to some of the behaviors we observe in the first responder world. Defining the term Normalization: To make normal; to make an established standard. Deviance: Departing from the norm; performing
The Normalization of Deviance Read More »
