Samatters Radio

You’ve heard the saying that a person learns more from their mistakes than they do from the things to do right. This is true in life and in firefighting. But there is a place and time to allow failure and this episode is dedicated to explaining how to build failure into your training evolutions. 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

During the Mental Management of Emergencies program we talk about the process of how to develop and maintain situational awareness. And then, we talk about how to use situational awareness as the foundation for decision making. Discussions revolve around how we train first responders which requires training both cognitive and kinesthetic skills (i.e., information and muscle movement). Stated another way, teaching the WHAT and WHY (cognitive) and the HOW (kinesthetic). However, on the drill ground, some instructors bypass the cognitive and focus almost entirely on the kinesthetic. It is easy to understand why this happens, with the majority of explanations revolving around limited (precious) time on the drill ground. That is understandable. But it’s not acceptable. For teaching decision making does not add substantial time to hands-on evolutions, so long as the instructor has spent some time in the classroom teaching the foundations of decision making. The drill ground becomes the closest thing to real-life pr

Lieutenant Todd Budd, at the time of his close call event was serving as the acting officer on Brownsburg ladder company 131. They were dispatched to assist a neighboring community for a working building fire. The call came in after midnight and their on-duty crew of four responded along with a battalion chief.   Lt. Budd was the officer of the quint. While responding, information was relayed to the crew (from one of their off-duty officers who was at the scene in an unofficial capacity) that the fire was in a building approximately 100 years old, 50 feet wide in the front and rear with 80-foot sides. There was a restaurant on the main floor, apartments on the second floor and an open cockloft.   The fire was advancing and first-due units had been there for 11/2 hours prior to our dispatch. The crew was advised that the fire was extending into the cockloft and the roof needed to be ventilated. The quint’s assignment was to lay our five-inch supply line to an engine in the rear as they approached and get to t

In this episode Dave Dodson shares how he created the Art of Reading Smoke program that has become a must-attend program for all firefighters. He also discusses his latest project – his recently released Art of Reading Buildings book that he co-authored with John Mittendorf. Our sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com   Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hats GMC - Virgin Records   Guest Contact Information Dave Dodson DaveDodson@q.com   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

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, for some reason, it’s not always done. This episode provides an explanation why that might happen and how to fix the problem. 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

Deputy Chief Nick Miller was first-in on a residential trailer home fire that resulted in two close calls. The first occurred when Miller’s SCBA was running out of air and he did not hear the alarm. The second occurred when a captain and recruit firefighter were over run by heat and had to bail out a window to survive.   Lessons learned included: The need for teamwork and crew coordination.  The need to ensure communications are heard and understood. The need to coordinate incident activities and priorities. The importance of avoiding independent action on a fireground. The impact of task fixation Our sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com   Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hats GMC - Virgin Records   Guest Contact Information Nick Miller nickmiller518@gmail.com 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 episode addresses five questions asked during SAMatters live Tour events, including: You've shared many of the challenges we face as first responders when our brains gets stressed. Are there any good things that come from our reaction to stress? You talked a lot in the program about identifying and understanding the critical clues and cues during size-up. I'm a newer firefighter. Is there anything I can do to get better at this skill? Do you have any advice for how a young officer can develop command competency (including command situational awareness)? During the presentation you said the training should be as realistic as possible. Our police department was doing "realistic" hand-to-hand combat training. So realistic, in fact, that some officers were getting hurt. So we stopped doing that. Now, the instructors tell us to only put forth "ten percent" effort... "go through the motions" of how to subdue someone, but don't actually do it because someone might get hurt. Based on what you just taught us, is

What can you learn from someone who has survived 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 by the real-life experiences of close call survivors, sharing INCREDIBLE stories about how they nearly died and, in some cases, how their comrades did die.   This episode reviews some of the most incredible interviews conducted with close call survivors, including:   Episode 17: Indianapolis Fire Department Health & Safety Chief Doug Abernathy sharing his close call survival story at the Athletic Club Hotel Fire that claimed the lives of two firefighters.   Episode 18: Aurora Fire Lieutenant Sean Dolan sharing his close call survival story from being caught in a flashover while operating a hose line to provide protection to a truck company crew conducting a primary search.   Episode

One of the essential components of well-developed situational awareness is being able to accurately predict the future. This prediction should be made during the initial scene size up and then it should be updated often as the incident progresses. In this episode we discuss the need to begin with the end in mind will be explored and tips will be provided for how to improve outcome predictions. 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

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 outcomes.   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

Individuals impacted by tachypsychia have described it as having the appearance that time is elongated, giving the appearance that events are moving slower than reality. The opposite has also been described, where it appears time is speeding up, sometimes moving so fast that things appeared blurred.   In this episode we will also review a near-miss event where rapidly changing conditions at an apartment building fire put firefighters in a dangerous position.   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 tones drop for an apartment building fire. On the way, dispatch is advising multiple calls, confirming a working fire and the possibility of people trapped. The mind of the officer on the aerial platform is busy processing – thinking – anticipating – what will need to be done upon arrival? Of course, truck work is on the officer’s mind: Forcible entry; search and rescue; ventilation. The officer takes a deep breath and smiles. It’s going to be a good day. That is… until the officer gets overcome by mission myopia. 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

On June 30, 2008 an intense wind driven blaze destroyed a apartment building in Speedway, Indiana. As crews arrives on the scene a large column of smoke filling the sky from the building located along I-465 just north of Hollister Drive. The fire started around 3:21 pm and quickly spread as high winds from the north pushed the fire further into the building. Lieutenant Jeff Cheshire, then serving as a firefighter on Engine 202 recounts how his crew got over run by rapidly changing fire conditions and how another fire crew got blown down a set of stairs but what was described as a backdraft or smoke explosion. Lessons Learned: The need to pay attention to clues that indicate unusual conditions. The need to trust your gut and to speak up when you sense something is not right. The need to overcome your concerns about what others might think of you if you suggest it may be time to leave. The need to rely on your training and to apply the lessons from training on the fireground.   Our sponsor: Midwest Fire Midwe

It is amazing how many articles and videos I have watched lately in which they are talking about decision making based on “gut feel.” It is also disheartening how many first responders I have interviewed who have admitted to me that they have dismissed their gut feelings and proceeded to do things that resulted in bad outcomes. Let’s explore the origins of intuition. 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  

In this episode, Cypress Creek Lieutenant Jason Corthell shares his close call survival story where he was operating on the second floor of an exterior stairwell at an apartment building fire.     The stairwell, not involved in fire at all, unexpectedly collapsed, trapping Lieutenant Corthell and District Chief Sanchez under tons of steel and concrete. A mayday was called and a rapid intervention crew was able to remove the debris and successful rescue the two firefighters. Our sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com   Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hats GMC - Virgin Records   Guest Contact Information Jason Corthell jason.corthell@gmail.com   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

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.   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

On May 12, 2012, Atascocita Volunteer Fire Captain Brian Mulligan and his crew responded to a reported gas leak that resulted in a very close call. If the circumstances were just slightly different, Brian could have been severely burned or electrocuted. Yes, at a gas leak call he almost got electrocuted! Listen in and learn how it happened and the valuable lessons Brian and his department took away from this event, including: The need to always be vigilant and, if it is possible, to expect the unexpected – to think about other explanations for what you may be seeing or hearing. As Brian will share, things are not always what they appear to be. Do not take anything for granted. Ensure you have a solid standard operating guideline for responses to gas emergencies. Brian’s department didn’t have one then… but they do now. Our sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com   Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hats GMC - Virgin Records   Guest Contact Information Captain Brian Mulligan Atascocita Volunteer Fire

In this episode, I interview Andover (MN) Fire Chief Jerry Streich on the value of having a safety officer assigned during training evolutions. Chief Streich took part in a pilot program for the League of Minnesota Cities (his department’s insurance provided) in an effort to reduce training-related injuries.   The program has now been in place for two years and the Andover Fire Department has not had a single training-related injury in that time. This is impressive. Chief Streich discusses how the program came about and how your department might benefit from assigning a safety officer during training incidents.   Specific takeaways from this episode include:   The importance of having safety on the minds of all participants in a training evolution. How safety can become a valued recruitment and retention tool. How to identify predictable injuries during training evolutions. How to reduce insurance costs by reducing training injuries. Ways to implement a training safety officer in your department.   Our spon

On Sunday March 29 Fire Captain Pete Dern was leading his crew across the roof to provide ventilation for the safety of attack crews when a catastrophic collapse dropped him into the inferno. Fellow Firefighters rescued him within minutes but he suffered 65-75 percent second and third degree burns across his body. Following the incident a video of the event quickly made its way across mainstream media and social media. I was encouraged by the outpouring of support. I was also repulsed by the number of firefighters who chose first to judge and speak poorly of Captain Dern and his department and their leadership. This episode is dedicated to Captain Dern and all firefighters who, in the moment, make split-second decisions that, for any of us, at any time, can result in tragedy. This episode is a call to action. There are three actions I am requesting of listeners. Answer the questions I pose during the radio show that forces all of us to seek first to understand, and to allay our impulse to judge others (espec

Peter Schenk has a wide and varied background. He has worked as a firefighter and a police officer. And he served 32 years with Northwest Airlines prior to their acquisition by Delta Airlines.     Peter was involved in the early stages of development of the cockpit resource management systems (CRM), now known as Crew Resource Management. This program is widely credited for reducing aviation accidents by taking proactive steps to address human error and improve communications and teamwork. Our sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com   Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hats GMC - Virgin Records   Guest Contact Information Peter Schenk Pete.Schenk@gmail.com   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