Samatters Radio

Have you ever driven your vehicle somewhere, arrived at your destination and wondered to yourself “How did I get here?” If so, you have experienced mind drift. This can happen when you’re driving your car, sitting in a classroom, or performing a high-risk activity. And when it happens, it can have a catastrophic impact on your situational awareness.   Our sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com   Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hats GMC - Virgin Records   Situational Awareness Matters! website www.SAMatters.com   Firefighter Near Miss Reporting System http://www.firefighternearmiss.com/   Contact Rich Gasaway www.RichGasaway.com Support@RichGasaway.com 612-548-4424

James Johnson is a Firefighter for Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.  He is currently assigned to Firehouse 1 and is part of the Special Operations Technical Rescue Team, as well as Canada Task Force One USAR Team. James is a certified Fire Service Instructor II and teaches at the Justice Institute of British Columbia in the Fire and Safety Division. Before becoming a career firefighter, James spent a number of years in the construction industry and completed an apprenticeship and the technical training to become a Red Seal Journeyman Carpenter. James serves as a Technical Committee member for NFPA 220, 221, and 5000, and is a FDIC presenter.    Our sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com   James Johnson Contact Information Email: JamesTylerJohnson@live.com Twitter: @James_John_son   James Johnson’s upcoming FDIC Class What’s hiding behind the walls? Thursday, April 27, 2017 1530-1715   Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hats GMC - Virgin Records   Situational A

First responder training is often conducted in topical segments. One week it might be fire attack. The next week the training might focus on search and rescue and the next week on forcible entry. There is a reason a football team conducts a scrimmage, or why actors in a play conduct a full-dress rehearsal. This episode discusses the value of putting all the training segments together into one comprehensive practiced event.   Our sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com   Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hats GMC - Virgin Records   Situational Awareness Matters! website www.SAMatters.com   Firefighter Near Miss Reporting System http://www.firefighternearmiss.com/   Contact Rich Gasaway www.RichGasaway.com Support@RichGasaway.com 612-548-4424

Fear is one of two emotions that drive all human behavior. The other is desire.  Whatever a first responder chooses to do, or not do, is based on one of these two emotional drives.  This episode discuses how fear can compel responders to do undesirable, and sometimes dangerous, things at emergency scenes. Our sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com   Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hats GMC - Virgin Records   Situational Awareness Matters! website www.SAMatters.com   Firefighter Near Miss Reporting System http://www.firefighternearmiss.com/   Contact Rich Gasaway www.RichGasaway.com Support@RichGasaway.com 612-548-4424

There’s no doubt that in dynamically changing, high-risk, high-consequence environments someone could be called upon to perform many varied tasks, some at the same time. When staffing levels are low, the likelihood of this situation can increase significantly. The problem this creates is the brain does not perform well when task saturated, especially in stressful situations.   Our sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com   Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hats GMC - Virgin Records   Situational Awareness Matters! website www.SAMatters.com   Firefighter Near Miss Reporting System http://www.firefighternearmiss.com/   Contact Rich Gasaway www.RichGasaway.com Support@RichGasaway.com 612-548-4424

We see with our brains, not with our eyes.  The eyes are simply a tool to gather photons of light. The processing of images happens in the visual cortex (in the back of your brain). There is also an interesting thing that happens as we listen to information. We also draw pictures in our brain. This is what I call the pre-arrival lens and it can set a responder up for success or it can cause some significant challenges.   Our sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com   Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hats GMC - Virgin Records   Situational Awareness Matters! website www.SAMatters.com   Firefighter Near Miss Reporting System http://www.firefighternearmiss.com/   Contact Rich Gasaway www.RichGasaway.com Support@RichGasaway.com 612-548-4424

There are two types of memory we will discuss in this episode, short-term and long-term. Both play important roles in helping first responders develop and maintain situational awareness. Here, we will explain how.   Our sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com   Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hats GMC - Virgin Records   Situational Awareness Matters! website www.SAMatters.com Situational Awareness Matters Online Academy www.SAMatters.com/academy   Firefighter Near Miss Reporting System http://www.firefighternearmiss.com/   Contact Rich Gasaway www.RichGasaway.com Support@RichGasaway.com 612-548-4424

At the time of the fire, Rick Mehaffey served as an engineer for the Waynesville Fire Department, a combination department that runs 2500 calls a year out of two stations. (He has since been promoted to Captain.) At the time of the near miss event the staffing levels was 1 person on-duty at each of two stations, supplemented by roughly 30 volunteers. At 0759 the fire department was dispatched to a residential fire at 71 Cornerstone Ridge in Waynesville. Mehaffey was first on-scene of a working fire in a two-story wood frame structure with light smoke coming from the eves and smoke coming out of the chimney. Mehaffey noted the rock chimney stood approximately 8 feet above the gutter line and was 4 foot in width. The size of the chimney led him to position his engine outside of what he would deem to be the collapse zone. Mehaffey established command and completed a 360 degree size up. The second engine arrived and they initiated interior operations. The crew located the fire in the vaulted ceiling cavity around

Confabulation is a fascinating phenomenon where a person’s brain can make up its own reality and the individual it happens to will not realize that what they believe to be fact is, indeed, a figment of their imagination. Our sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com   Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hats GMC - Virgin Records   Situational Awareness Matters! website www.SAMatters.com Situational Awareness Matters Online Academy www.SAMatters.com/academy   Firefighter Near Miss Reporting System http://www.firefighternearmiss.com/   Contact Rich Gasaway www.RichGasaway.com Support@RichGasaway.com 612-548-4424

In this episode, Madison Firefighter Cameron Gasaway shares his observations about why it is so hard for a new firefighter to speak up when they think something is going wrong. We also share a real-life experience Cameron had when he was presented with an opportunity to speak up. In his words, it was one of the worst feelings he’d ever had.   Our sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com   Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hats GMC - Virgin Records   Situational Awareness Matters! website www.SAMatters.com Situational Awareness Matters Online Academy www.SAMatters.com/academy   Firefighter Near Miss Reporting System http://www.firefighternearmiss.com/   Contact Rich Gasaway www.RichGasaway.com Support@RichGasaway.com 612-548-4424

The researchers who study expertise have concluded it can take roughly 10,000 hours of training and practice to achieve expert-level knowledge and performance skills. The bad news is, that could take responders over a decade to acquire. The good news is, the process of expertise development can be accelerated.   Our sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com   Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hats GMC - Virgin Records   Situational Awareness Matters! website www.SAMatters.com Situational Awareness Matters Online Academy www.SAMatters.com/academy   Firefighter Near Miss Reporting System http://www.firefighternearmiss.com/   Contact Rich Gasaway www.RichGasaway.com Support@RichGasaway.com 612-548-4424

As you attend conferences that have vendor display areas, pay attention to how many incident management software vendors claim to have programs that can “develop situational awareness” in first responders. This claim is often founded on the belief that as the software is able to capture, assemble and display layers and layers of data that, somehow, situational awareness will be improved. Be careful, as you may be sold a product that does not do what it claims to do.   Our sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com   Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hats GMC - Virgin Records   Situational Awareness Matters! website www.SAMatters.com Situational Awareness Matters Online Academy www.SAMatters.com/academy   Firefighter Near Miss Reporting System http://www.firefighternearmiss.com/   Contact Rich Gasaway www.RichGasaway.com Support@RichGasaway.com 612-548-4424

When it comes to first responder radio traffic I am reminded of the tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. You may recall that in the story Goldilocks samples three bowls of porridge. One is too hot. One is too cold. And the third is just right. This lesson applies directly to first responder situational awareness and the role radio communications plays in helping to develop and maintain SA.   Our sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com   Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hats GMC - Virgin Records   Situational Awareness Matters! website www.SAMatters.com   Firefighter Near Miss Reporting System http://www.firefighternearmiss.com/   Contact Rich Gasaway www.RichGasaway.com Support@RichGasaway.com 612-548-4424

The Situational Awareness Matters Online Academy officially opens its doors in January. SAMatters Radio podcast episode #132 was dedicated to explaining the features of the Academy. This episode is dedicated to questions and answers I’ve fielded over the past couple of weeks.   Our sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com   Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hats GMC - Virgin Records   Situational Awareness Matters! www.SAMatters.com   Situational Awareness Matters Online Academy www.SAMatters.com/academy   Firefighter Near Miss Reporting System http://www.firefighternearmiss.com/   Contact Rich Gasaway www.RichGasaway.com Support@RichGasaway.com 612-548-4424

One of the ways to improve your situational awareness is to develop a conscious awareness about your awareness. Developing and maintaining situational awareness can be challenging while operating in high stress conditions. Being aware of this and using techniques to ensure you remain in the moment can improve safety.   Our sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com   Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hats GMC - Virgin Records   Situational Awareness Matters! website www.SAMatters.com   Firefighter Near Miss Reporting System http://www.firefighternearmiss.com/   Contact Rich Gasaway www.RichGasaway.com Support@RichGasaway.com 612-548-4424

It is important for a commander to have situational awareness about the resources available and to use that knowledge to drive decisions. Setting strategy without consideration to the quantity and quality of resources can be very risky. This episode explores how to develop situational awareness about resource availability.     Our sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com   Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hats GMC - Virgin Records   Situational Awareness Matters! website www.SAMatters.com   Firefighter Near Miss Reporting System http://www.firefighternearmiss.com/   Contact Rich Gasaway www.RichGasaway.com Support@RichGasaway.com 612-548-4424

One of the problems that can happen while working in high stress, time compressed environments is a person can develop a flawed perception of reality. When this happens, they will not realize it until something happens that allows them to see their perception was flawed. This is where the devil’s advocate can help. This episode explains how.   Our sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com   Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hats GMC - Virgin Records   Situational Awareness Matters! website www.SAMatters.com   Firefighter Near Miss Reporting System http://www.firefighternearmiss.com/   Contact Rich Gasaway www.RichGasaway.com Support@RichGasaway.com 612-548-4424

One of the most common pieces of feedback received from live events is “Everyone in my department needed to hear this message.” I could not agree more. I realized with this feedback came a challenge to create a convenient, affordable way for every department to train every member. From that inspiration came the Situational Awareness Matters Online Academy.   Our sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com   Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hats GMC - Virgin Records   Situational Awareness Matters! website SAMatters.com Online Academy SAMatters.com/academy/   SAMatters Testimonials www.richgasaway.com/testimonials/   Contact Rich Gasaway SAMatters.com/contact/ 612-548-4424

The research I have conducted on the neuroscience of situational awareness and high-risk decision making has been fascinating and extremely enlightening to me. Over the past 9 years, it has been very rewarding to take the lessons of research and apply them for the benefit of first responders. For those who have attended one of my programs, you know these lessons are always shared in friendly ways (i.e., avoiding all the heady terminology of brain science). One of the findings of my research led me to the conclusion that once a commander becomes overloaded and overwhelmed, managing the mental workload can become extremely difficult and meltdowns are predictable. And, much to my dismay, it is quite easy to overload and overwhelm someone who is under stress (e.g., the incident commander).   Our sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com   Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hats GMC - Virgin Records   Situational Awareness Matters! website www.SAMatters.com   Firefighter Near Miss Reporting System http://www.

A person suffering from auditory exclusion will experience temporary hearing loss.  While it is most often identified and associated with individuals who are working in high stress environments, the truth is it can happen to any of us at any time. We will discuss how it happens and how it impacts situational awareness.   Our sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com   Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hats GMC - Virgin Records   Situational Awareness Matters! website www.SAMatters.com   Firefighter Near Miss Reporting System http://www.firefighternearmiss.com/   Contact Rich Gasaway www.RichGasaway.com Support@RichGasaway.com 612-548-4424