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Situational Awareness is a Complex Topic

The topic of situational awareness is growing in popularity in the fire service and this is a good thing. For decades the casualty reports have revealed that flawed situational awareness leads to poor decision making and has contributed to tragic fireground outcomes. I am honored to see many of the teachings being shared here on […]

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Weather Can Impact Situational Awareness

You may recall from earlier discussions that situational awareness is formed by gathering information about what is happening in the environment around you. Then, your brain takes that information and attempts to form an understanding of what it all means. Finally, after understanding what it means, you make predictions of future events. This is a

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Twelve Ways to Situational Awareness

Ho, Ho, Ho. Merry Christmas everyone! With Thanksgiving day in the past, it is officially the Christmas season! I know everyone’s feeling particularly festive this time of year and I have caught the Christmas spirit in a very situational awareness sort of way. Surely you’ve heard of the “Twelve Days of Christmas.” -You know –

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Positive Reinforcement of Undesirable Behavior

In this article I am taking on a topic often discussed in my leadership programs more often than in my situational awareness programs – motivation. I’m not going to get in to depth on the topic of motivation as it takes me a solid four hours in a classroom session to demystify the topic and

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Nine Dangerous Mindsets – Part 7: The Superman/Superwoman

Welcome to installment seven of the Nine Dangerous Mindsets series. While these mindsets may have many dangerous implications, my focus is to bring light to how they can impact situational awareness and team safety. I have been receiving some amazing feedback so far on this series. Readers are sharing that I have struck a chord,

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Situational Awareness Matters

Nine Dangerous Mindsets – Part 6: The Silent

Welcome to part six of this nine-part series on dangerous mindsets that can impact situational awareness. I appreciate all of the very kind feedback I have been receiving on this series on Facebook, Twitter and by email. Your positive feedback energizes me so much. Thank you. In this segment we’re going to discuss the Silent member.

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Situational Awareness Matters

Nine Dangerous Mindsets – Part 5: The Stubborn

Welcome to the fifth of the nine-part series on dangerous mindsets that can impact situational awareness and, subsequently, the safety of your team. In this article I am going to address the stubborn team member. This individual can be described as one set in their ways, closed minded and perhaps even defiant. Their narrowed view

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Nine Dangerous Mindsets: Part 4 – The Superior

Welcome to the fourth installment of the Dangerous Mindsets series. Previously I talked about the dangerous mindsets of the Starter, the Subordinate and the Specialist. This article addresses the Superior or, more appropriately, the Superior with personal issues and how that can impact situational awareness and team safety. It would be rare for a supervisor

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I Woke Up Today With Nothing To Do!

If you have visited SAMatters before, you know the mission of the site is to help first responders improve situational awareness by “Helping you see the bad things coming in time to change the outcome.” Something happened today that I didn’t see coming and I’d like to share the story with you. Thank you for

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Episode 215 | Dave Beauregard Interview – Part 2

This episode is Part 2 of a two-part near-miss interview with Chicopee Fire Department Deputy Chief Dave Beauregard.  Length: 50 minutes click the YouTube icon to watch the full VIDEO of this interview!         __________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational awareness and high-risk decision making to a higher

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