Sponsored by Midwest Fire Thank you for visiting the Periodic Chart of Situational Awareness page. If you would like to purchase the chart, please visit the SAMatters store at: www.SAMatters.com/store/ Each situational awareness barrier identified on the Chart is clickable link that will take you to articles, audio and/or video lessons about the barrier that […]
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
Unexpected information can be a barrier to situational awareness Read More »
Situational awareness starts with capturing clues and cues in your environment (perception) and then understanding what those clues and cues mean (comprehension). At a structure fire, the process of capturing information should involve a complete 360-degree size-up of the scene. Many departments have policies that stipulate the completion of a 360-degree size up. Yet,
Episode 65: Conducting the 360 size-up Read More »
During SAMatters Tour events there are lots of discussion happening among attendees and some great questions being asked. This episode addresses some of the questions fielded during live events. Length: 27 minutes click the YouTube icon to listen _____________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational awareness and high-risk decision
Episode 63: SA Q &A Session Read More »
What can you learn from someone who has survived a close call? The answer is… A LOT. When I launched this show in April 2014, the purpose was, as it remains, to help first responders improve situational awareness and decision making while operating in high stress, high consequence environments. This mission has been supplemented
Episode 62: Review of the most popular close call interviews Read More »
On this episode we discuss how to make decisions in dynamically changing environments and the importance of using situational awareness as the foundation for making good decisions under stress. It is the decisions that first responders make, while operating in high stress, high consequence, time compressed environments (using situational awareness) that drive successful or unsuccessful
Episode 60: Explaining the Dynamic Decision Making Process Read More »
This episode explores Tachypsychia, a neurological condition that results in the distortion of time. While there can be several causes, we’re going to focus on emergency scene stress as the trigger. Length: 40 minutes click the YouTube icon to listen _____________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational awareness and
Episode 59: Understanding Time Distortion Read More »
In this episode, Dr. Richard B. Gasaway responds to five listener questions. Tune in as he shares the answers and provides some best practices for developing and maintaining strong situational awareness while working in high-risk, high consequence environments. Length: 21 minutes click the YouTube icon to listen _____________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking
Episode 54: SA Q&A Read More »
Firefighters and addiction. It’s not something we like to acknowledge or talk about. On this episode, we both acknowledge the problem and I have two guests from the American Addiction Centers here to give first responders advice about how to get help. Length: 56 minutes click the YouTube icon to listen _____________________________________________________ If
Episode 48: Helping responders with addiction Read More »
Episode 408 The fire service is struggling with recruiting and retention. It’s also challenged by a mental health crisis and a growing apathy within the profession. The good news is, we have the power to fix it. Working in a team environment provides job satisfaction, psychological safety, and a feeling of community. Fire service leaders
