Samatters Radio

Just after 0700hrs Washington County 911 Dispatch received a call reporting heavy black smoke to the rear of 110 North Conococheague Street in Williamsport. The caller advised them that her house was also filling with the smoke from outside. Crews were quickly dispatched out on Box 2-1 at 07:20 hours that morning. Williamsport Rescue Engine 2 was able to see heavy smoke showing as they approached the scene. Lieutenant Nokes of Company 2 immediately requested the Working Fire Assignment as they arrived. Crews found heavy fire on side Charlie of the structure as they began their initial attack on the blaze. Chief William Ball from Company 2 arrived and assumed Command after a quick size up and face-to-face with Lieutenant Nokes. Firefighters worked to control the fire, but the fire found its way through a cock loft area and rapidly spread to different parts of the structure. At 07:48 hours Chief Ball requested a Second Alarm struck.   As heavy smoke encompassed the Williamsport area, crews continued to work dil

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. I’m really excited to have as my guests Mark Lamplugh and Mike Healy, both first responders and both committed to helping first responders with addiction issues. Assistant Chief Michael A. Healy is a forty -four year member of the Rockland County, NY fire service. He has served two prior terms as a chief. He is a NYS Fire Instructor, the Coordinator of Fire Education at the Rockland County Fire Training Center, a hands on fire instructor for the NYS Association of Fire Chiefs, and a member of the Rockland County CISM team. Mike retired in 2008 from he NY Transit Authority as the Clinical Director of the NYC Transit / TWU Local 100 Union Assistance Program. He is a Certified Employee Assistance Professional, Substance Abuse Professional, and a Labor Assistance Pr

Chief Halton began his fire career in structural firefighting with the Albuquerque (NM) Fire Department. He left as chief of operations in 2004 and joined the Coppell (TX) Fire Department as its chief. He left this position to assume his duties at Fire Engineering. He is a graduate of the University of New Mexico. He has served on National Fire Protection Association technical committees and is active with the National Fallen Firefighters Life Safety Initiatives.  In this second part of a two-part interview (Part 1 was Episode 46) I start by asking Chief Halton to discuss what trends in the fire service are causing him concerns. Then we conclude with him sharing his wish list for firefighter safety. I want to apologize to the listeners and to Chief Halton for having some audio issues with Skype. Where I could, I edited the audio to reduce the annoyance. Double Backdraft Video Link FDIC Website Our sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com   Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hats GMC - Virgin Records   G

Chief Halton began his fire career in structural firefighting with the Albuquerque (NM) Fire Department. He left as chief of operations in 2004 and joined the Coppell (TX) Fire Department as its chief. He left this position to assume his duties at Fire Engineering. He is a graduate of the University of New Mexico. He has served on National Fire Protection Association technical committees and is active with the National Fallen Firefighters Life Safety Initiatives. In this two-part interview (Part 2 will be Episode 47) we start by talking about FDIC International 2015 and all the exciting learning and networking opportunities you’ll have there. You’ll quickly see why the FDIC is the premier fire service educational conference in the world. During the interview Chief Halton shared with me the FDIC is the largest educational conference of its kind in the world as far as attendance and course offerings. There are 280 hands-on training session instructors who will deliver 21 classes on Monday and Tuesday and 211 co

Dave Martin’s crew was assigned to the task of keeping the wildland fire from jumping Highway 97.  Around 2100, Captain Martin and a member of the tribal fire management team were assigned to conduct a back-burn operation along the highway. Unexpectedly, the fire blew up on them, eventually consuming 1,200 acres. While on a retreat from the fast moving fire, Captain Martin’s partner become entangled on a barbed wire fence. While being over run by hot embers and heavy smoke, Captain Martin used a utility knife to cut away his partner’s ensnarled clothing and they both narrowly escaped death. 1.   The need to trust your intuition – your gut feel when it tells you something is not right. 2.    The importance of standing your ground when you feel a mistake is being made by your partner. 3.    The consequences of overlooking critical clues and cues that indicate conditions are changing. 4.    How task fixation and mission myopia and serve as barriers that impact your situational awareness and flaw your decision ma

Fire Chief Scott Burnette began his career as a firefighter for the City of Asheville (NC) Fire Department in 1995. Chief Burnette has an Associates Degree in Fire Protection Technology from Gaston College, a Bachelors Degree in Fire Safety Engineering Technology from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and a Masters Degree in Executive Fire Service Leadership from Grand Canyon University. Chief Burnette is designated as a Chief Fire Officer through the Center for Public Safety Excellence and is a graduate of the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program. Chief Burnette worked his way through the ranks and was promoted to Fire Chief in November 2009. In this two-part interview we start by talking about the structure fire at 445 Biltmore Avenue on July 28, 2011 that resulted in the tragic line-of-duty death of Captain Jeff Bowen. During this interview, Fire Chief Scott Burnette talks about that fateful day and the significant changes that have occurred in the Asheville Fire Department

In this two-part interview we start by talking about the structure fire at 445 Biltmore Avenue on July 28, 2011 that resulted in the tragic line-of-duty death of Captain Jeff Bowen. During this interview, Fire Chief Scott Burnette talks about that fateful day and the significant changes that have occurred in the Asheville Fire Department – changes that every fire department can benefit from. Takeaways from this interview include: 1. How the process of a facilitated debriefing helped the Asheville Fire Department identify the 16 focus reas that represented opportunities for improvement. 2. The importance of having an air management protocol and changing the department’s culture about air management. 3. The need to have the right staffing front-loaded at an incident scene, including a command aide (or command technician) to support the Incident Commander. 4. The value of completing critical task analysis to determine how many personnel are needed to perform vital tasks at incidents (such as RIT and incident man

Raleigh Fire Captain Stephen Page, serving on the busy Ladder 4 in downtown Raleigh, responded to restaurant fire at 311 Glenwood Avenue. The ladder crew, followed by an engine crew with a hoseline, entered the heavily smoke filled environment with the mission of search and fire attack.   Crews were quickly overrun by changing conditions and an evacuation was ordered. All the crews scrambled for the exit, leaving Captain Page behind… along… without water… and disoriented. During this interview he recounts the story and shares his best advice, including: 1.    The need to pay attention to your gut instinct.  2.    Big fires need big water.  3.    Keep your focus on the big picture.  4.    Assess the risk-benefit of making entry in zero visibility environments. 5.    Maintaining allegiance to the mission of search, even after being informed by employees that everyone is out of the restaurant.  6.    The need to overcome pride and the competitive nature of firefighters to avoid creating risk.   Thank you to our

In this episode Dr. Gasaway interviews Santa Clara County Deputy Chief Steve Prziborowski, Contra Costa Battalion Chief Bob Atlas and Pinole Firefighter Christopher Baker on how to prepare for promotion to ensure you are providing the right safety leadership to your crew.   Each of the guests has a unique background and offer a varied perspective on how to prepare for a position of leadership. They offer their best advice for how to be a great company officer, including: 1. The need to have mentors.  2.    The importance of being the “designated adult” in the firehouse.  3.    The value of continual learning, even if your department won’t pay for it.  4.    How to prepare for promotion.  5.    And more!  Thank you to our sponsor: Midwest Fire: MidwestFire.com Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hats GMC - Virgin Records   Guest Contact Information: Steve Prziborowski, Deputy Chief Santa Clara County Fire Department 408-205-9006 sprziborowski@aol.com   Bob Atlas, Battalion Chief Contra Co

In this episode I interview Ryan Pennington who runs the website ChamberOfHoarders.com. Ryan has a passion for helping first responders understand the challenges of fighting fires in hoarded environments. In this episode you’ll learn: 1. Why Ryan prefers to call hoarded conditions “Heavy Content” and how that term applies to more than cluttered residential conditions. 2. How to use Ryan’s shortcut of: Identify, Confirm, Orient and Control to improve safety while operating at Heavy Content incidents. 3. Ryan shares the tactical considerations for operating at Heavy Content Incidents. 4. He discusses the challenges of keeping oriented during searches and discusses why it’s never a good idea to climb over the pile. 5. Finally, he shares some advice for how to remove victims from the Heavy Contents Environments. Thank you to our sponsor: Midwest Fire: MidwestFire.com Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hats GMC - Virgin Records   Guest Contact Information: Ryan Pennington www.ChamberOfHoarders.com @Jump

I recorded the featured content of this episode a few weeks back so you’ll notice the difference in the sound quality because I was using my standard podcasting microphone.   This episode was inspired by a long conversation I had with some firefighters about challenges they are facing with their station alerting system so I decided to dedicate an episode to this potential situational awareness barrier.   During this episode I discuss: 1.    The impact loud noises can have on stress levels. 2.    How noise triggers primal defenses. 3.    The long-term impact of noise exposure. 4.    The need to upgrade station alerting systems.       Thank you to our sponsor: Midwest Fire: MidwestFire.com Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hats GMC - Virgin Records   Situational Awareness Matters! website www.SAMatters.com  

This episode is an interview with Dr. Burt Clark, author of the recently released book “I can’t save you but I’ll die trying: The American fire culture.” Dr. Clark shares his passion for firefighter safety and the need to change our culture. During this interview we discussed the themes in his book, including: 1.    The Firefighter’s Genes: Fast, Close, Wet, Risk, Injury, Death 2.    Seatbelts save lives. So why don’t we wear them? 3.    Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! Know when to call it. 4.    Best Practices 5.    The Pursuit of Higher Education 6.    His list of the best fire departments in America (from research he conducted based on criteria in the book: In Search of Excellence. Thank you to our sponsors: Midwest Fire: MidwestFire.com Branding Iron Marketing: BrandingIron.com   Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hats GMC - Virgin Records   Dr. Burt Clark cclark4949@aol.com   Premium Press America www.PremiumPressAmerica.com 800-891-7323 615-353-7902615-353-7905 fax   Situational Awareness Matters

Dr. Charles “Chad” Weinstein is the founder and president of Ethical Leaders in Action, a firm that exists to empower ethical leaders to achieve extraordinary results. He works primarily with leaders in public safety, healthcare, and business organizations.   Dr. Weinstein recently authored a book – Thinking Aloud. Reflections on Ethical Leadership.     During this interview we discussed:   Dr. Weinstein’s three guiding principles of ethical leadership.- Excellence in service. - Sound stewardship. - Fairness. - How Dr. Weinstein works with fire departments to identify opportunities to achieve excellence in leadership. Dr. Weinstein’s new book – a collection of essays that can be used to inspire conversations about leadership best practices and the connection of safety, culture and ethical leadership.   Thank you to our sponsors:Midwest Fire: MidwestFire.comBranding Iron Marketing: BrandingIron.com   Intro musicSafety Dance (1982)Men Without HatsGMC - Virgin Records   Guest Contact InformationDr. Charles “Chad

This is part 2 of a 2-part Interview. Feb. 4, 2007, is the day that changed the lives of Lionel and Joanna Crowther forever. A firefighter with the Winnipeg, Manitoba, Fire Department, Lionel was off duty when he got called in for an overtime shift. Early into the shift his company, Engine 101 was dispatched to a reported residential dwelling fire. Within minutes of responding to the call, a flashover occurred. Flames engulfed the entire house, trapping several firefighters on the second floor. Lionel managed to escape by jumping out of a second-story window.   When the smoke cleared and the flames were extinguished, two fire captains had been killed and four firefighters, including Lionel, were severely burned.   Take aways from this two-part interview include:    1.    Department members received RIT training but were not trained on how or when to call a mayday, a missing component that would prove critical to the outcome of this incident.    2.    The importance of being a student of every fire.   3.    Th

This is part 1 of a 2-part Interview. Feb. 4, 2007, is the day that changed the lives of Lionel and Joanna Crowther forever. A firefighter with the Winnipeg, Manitoba, Fire Department, Lionel was off duty when he got called in for an overtime shift. Early into the shift his company, Engine 101 was dispatched to a reported residential dwelling fire. Within minutes of responding to the call, a flashover occurred. Flames engulfed the entire house, trapping several firefighters on the second floor. Lionel managed to escape by jumping out of a second-story window. When the smoke cleared and the flames were extinguished, two fire captains had been killed and four firefighters, including Lionel, were severely burned.   Take aways from this two-part interview include:    1.    Department members received RIT training but were not trained on how or when to call a mayday, a missing component that would prove critical to the outcome of this incident.    2.    The importance of being a student of every fire.   3.  

Situaitonal Awareness WebcastFirehouse.comhttps://event.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1044687   Thank you to our sponsors: Midwest Fire: MidwestFire.com Branding Iron Marketing: BrandingIron.com   Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hats GMC - Virgin Records   Situational Awareness Matters! website www.SAMatters.com   Upcoming Events Schedule http://www.samatters.com/programs-keynote/eventschedule/   Books and Videos (Store) http://www.samatters.com/store/   Firefighter Near Miss Reporting System http://www.firefighternearmiss.com/   Contact Rich Gasaway www.RichGasaway.com Support@RichGasaway.com 612-548-4424

On January 14, 2010 the Wadesville Fire Department was dispatched to a residential dwelling fire. Deputy Chief Adam Farrar served as the incident commander.   During the incident, a crew on the interior attack nearly fell into the basement through a burned out floor and then a second narrowly escaped off the roof before it gave way under the strain of fire in the attic.   Some takeaways from the interview include:  1.The need to complete a thorough 360-degree size-up to form situational awareness about what is burning and where the fire is located. 2.Ensuring haste does not compel a firefighting crew to rush into a situation that could otherwise prove catastrophic.  3.The need for a strong commander who is willing and able to order a crew out of a structure… when the crew may not want to come out.  4.The need to evaluate near-miss events and learn from the mistakes and then to adjust policies and procedures to fix existing issues.   Thank you to our sponsors: Midwest Fire: MidwestFire.com Branding Iron Mark

Here is my Twelve Ways to Situational Awareness wish list. I hope you have all of them on Christmas day and every day throughout the year. 12: Communications skills: This includes both listening and speaking skills. Flawed communications is a significant barrier to situational awareness. I’ve written about this in numerous articles, including some suggestions for how to improve communications. Click on the “Categories” box on the right hand side of the page and enter “Communications” to see the articles on this topic. In the early days, they used to communicate by banging drums. Now we have handheld computers. Yet we’re still plagued by communications challenges. There are many opportunities for improvement in this arena. 11. Vigilance: To be vigilant is to be on-guard. Always on-guard. Your imagination isn’t good enough to think of all the ways this job can kill you. Being alert, even when it seems like things are routine. That is the mindset of a survivalist. Nero may have fiddled while Rome burned and elev

On February 18, 2009, Elyria Fire Captain Joe Pronesti responded to a fire alarm activation call on a college campus. The first arriving engine reported heavy smoke coming from multiple buildings. In search of the source of the smoke, crews would learn the fire was in a tunnel that connected multiple buildings on the campus.   Captain Pronesti was involved in advancing a hoseline and fighting the underground fire. While approximately 300’ inside the tunnel on the attack, his low air alarm started ringing. He ran out of air before making it completely out, disconnected his regulator and breathed products of combustion. Upon exiting, he provided a briefing to his commander and without warning, or his knowledge, collapsed to the ground (from smoke exposure and exhaustion). This occurred just a few minutes after exiting the structure. Had he collapsed in the smoke filled tunnel, the results could have been catastrophic.   On a side note, at the time of the fire, the Elyria Fire Department was undergoing an evalua

On Saturday, September 13, 2014, the Brooklyn Park Fire Department was dispatched to a medical call that had the potential to be catastrophic for the members of their department, their EMS transport provider and their police department.   The call was for a person having a stroke. As the crew arrived and made entry through the front door of the house there was a man on the floor having a seizure. The two police officers on the scene were attending to the individual. One of the firefighters on the scene, Jeff St. Martin, noticed a mess of exhaust and heard what sounded like a motor running. His quick actions prevented a catastrophic outcome.   Some takeaways from the interview include:  1.How complacency can creep into our mindset that we are responding to “just another medical call.”  2.How strong situational awareness can alert us when the pieces of the puzzle don’t fit… and things don’t make sense.  3.How intuition, when followed, can compel action that that can be lifesaving, even when you may not know wh