Samatters Radio

On July 5, 2013, the Spokane Fire Department responded to a reported commercial building fire at the Mayfair Professional Building, located at 5901 North Mayfair. Within two minutes of the alarm, the first arriving company found light smoke coming from the area of the HVAC units in the side of the building. The structure was a Type 5 construction, two-story structure with a basement. The fire progressed quickly, nearly trapping crews on the first floor and in the basement. Some takeaways from the interview include: 1. How rapidly changing fire conditions can unexpectedly over run crews. 2. You’re hear what you can learn when the fire does not behavior as expected (i.e., the puzzle pieces don’t fit). 3. You can become normalized to your environment and may not see the severity of the conditions. 4. How volumes of radio traffic on a single tactical channel can impact scene safety if at-risk crews cannot communicate via radio. 5. Time distortion impacted perception of speed of the incident. 6. How Spokane F

This episode is an interview with Technology Guru Darrell O’Donnell. I met Darrell through my social media channels. Darrell is located in Ottawa, Ontario and runs a very successful consulting and coaching business where he bridges the knowledge gap between the technology creators and innovators and the front end users of that technology – us… the first responder community. As you can imagine, this is no easy task.   Darrell has a special passion for technology that helps first responders develop, maintain and improve situational awareness by providing rapid access to critical information that can aid in decision making.   We recorded this interview in Darrell’s home in Ottawa where he invited me to join his wife Nancy, his daughter Haley and his son Connor for dinner. Coincidentally, it was Connor’s 15th birthday so I got to be part of that celebration, which was really cool. I was in town working on a project that brought 40 researchers and practitioners together from around the world to develop an internat

On this episode I interview Jeff Dill from the Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance and Les Karpluk, retired fire chief and owner of Genesis 2020 Solutions, a leadership teaching and consulting firm located in Prince Albert Saskatchewan. During the interview we:  1. Share advice about how to prepare for our climb down the ladder of success.  2. Talk about how to maintain your identity and find your new passion and purpose on retirement. 3. Discuss how firefighters can suffer from loss of identity as they retire and go from “Hero to Zero” all in one day.  4.Jeff talks about the 531 reported firefighter suicides, including the 120 that have been retirees. 5. We offer advice on how to find passion and purpose after retirement.  Whether you're new in the fire service or have been serving for many years, this episode will help you think about and prepare for that day... the day you leave the fire service. Thank you to our sponsors: Midwest Fire: www.MidwestFire.com Branding Iron: www.BrandingIron.com SHOW NOTES

For more show notes and pictures, visit: www.SAMatters.com/26/ On this episode I interview Fire Chief Gord Schreiner from the Comox Fire Department, located on beautiful Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Chief Schreiner holds the distinction of being one of the most impressive fire service thought leaders I’ve ever had the opportunity to meet.   Gord Schreiner started in the fire service in 1975 and is the full-time Fire Chief in Comox, BC where he also manages the Comox Fire Training Centre. The Comox Fire Training Centre hosts about 500 students per year and consists of four training buildings that are full of very creative and innovative training props.   Chief Schreiner is also a structural protection specialist (sprinklers) with the Office of the Fire Commissioner and worked at the 2010 Olympics as a venue commander. He also serves as the Educational Chair for the Fire Chiefs Association of British Columbia.   In 2010 Chief Schreiner was named the Canadian Career Fire Chief of the year and was also p

On this episode, I interview Firefighter John Dantuono of the Lakeside (New York) Fire Department. Lakeside is located west of Syracuse. The all-volunteer fire department serves a population of about 15,000. Listen in as John discusses how he responded to a mutual aid residential dwelling fire and fell through a weakened floor. As he notes, the only thing that kept him from falling all the way through was his SCBA.   The house that was on fire was a vacant, dilapidated structure with a fire on the second floor. John was part of a crew that was looking for fire extension on the second floor of this large farm-style house. While on the second floor, John separated from his partner – by his estimates – approximately 20 feet or so, and entered a room where the floor was weakened – not from fire, but from rot. With no warning, John fell through the floor and was caught by his SCBA bottle. This resulted in a Mayday and John’s successful rescue. During this interview, John will share some valuable lessons learned, i

On this episode, I interview Firefighter Richard Marcus of the New Hartford Volunteer Fire Department in Connecticut. On May 5, 2006, Firefighter Marcus was in the officer’s seat of New Hartford Engine 1 responding to a report of a fire on the roadside. While in route, they were cancelled and a discussion in the cab caused the driver to become momentarily distracted. For the brief moment that he had his eyes off the roadway, the engine drifted of the right side of the road. While the driver attempted to correct and recover, the engine veered out of control and struck a tree on the officer’s side of the engine. As a result, Firefighter Marcus suffered multiple injuries that included a spinal fracture and bilateral knee injuries. All firefighters riding in the engine were wearing seat belts. However the engine was older and was only equipped with lap belts, not shoulder belts.   Listen in as Firefighter Marcus shares this incredible story of how this incident impacted his life.  Lessons learned include:  1.The

On this episode I continue my interview with Captain John Lightly. John as served as a member of the Youngstown, Ohio Fire Department for 13 years. Youngstown FD has 8 stations and a sworn strength of 135 firefighters. John’s married and has twin daughters who are in 3rd grade. So you can imagine how exciting… and hectic John’s life is. I really appreciate him sitting down with me and sharing his close call survivor story where he almost died as a result of being caught in a flashover. For reasons that will become obvious during the interview, I title this episode “3 feet from death” and dedicate to all the firefighters who’ve been caught in a flashover and did not live to tell their story.   In this two-part story, you will learn:  1.How John conducted his size up and made a determination, based on clues and cues that formed his situational awareness, that there was a high probability the house was occupied. 2.How the flashover occurred within two minutes of entry – a recurring theme I see at flashover casua

This episode is Part 1 of a 2-part interview with Captain John Lightly. John as served as a member of the Youngstown, Ohio Fire Department for 13 years. Youngstown FD has 8 stations and a sworn strength of 135 firefighters. John’s married and has twin daughters who are in 3rd grade. So you can imagine how exciting… and hectic John’s life is. I really appreciate him sitting down with me and sharing his close call survivor story where he almost died as a result of being caught in a flashover. For reasons that will become obvious during the interview, I title this episode “3 feet from death” and dedicate to all the firefighters who’ve been caught in a flashover and did not live to tell their story.   In this two-part story, you will learn:  1.How John conducted his size up and made a determination, based on clues and cues that formed his situational awareness, that there was a high probability the house was occupied. 2.How the flashover occurred within two minutes of entry – a recurring theme I see at flashover

Hello and welcome to episode 21 of the Situational Awareness Matters radio show. I am your host, Rich Gasaway. The purpose of this show is to improve situational awareness and decision making for individuals and teams who work in high risk, high consequence environments.   The SAMatters mission is simple… To help you see the bad things coming… in time to avoid bad outcomes.   I have a great interview coming up, so stay tuned for that. But before I introduce our guest, I’m uber excited to share with you an announcement about some really valuable features we are going to be adding for the benefit of the Situational Awareness Matters community.   First, as many of you know, about a year ago we launched the Situational Awareness Matters Online Academy. The feedback from the students was awesome and we’ve taken your great ideas and rolled them into an updated version of the Academy. One of the features will allow a department to enroll their entire membership into the academy. Previously, the only enrollment optio

On this episode I interview Fire Chief Patrick Kenny from the Village of Western Springs, Illinois Fire Department. Chief Kenny talks candidly about losing his son, Sean, to suicide – and the importance of mental health for first responders. I first heard Chief Kenny’s message when he delivered his program at the VCOS Symposium in Clearwater Beach. Today, we were both presenters at the FASNY Convention on Albany, New York. After our programs we sat down and talked about his Mayday for Mental Health program. During the interview Chief Kenny shares: 1.How he lost his son, Sean, to suicide. 2.How he developed a program to share the message of mental health for first responders. 3.The powerful feedback he has received on his impassioned message. 4.How important it is for this topic to be discussed in fire departments. 5.How he almost lost a member of his department to suicide and how he was saved. 6.How our culture needs to change to take the stigma out of mental health. To learn more about firefighter suicide pr

On this episode I interview retired Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Investigator Steven Hough. Steven was shot three times by a suspect and the return fire mortally wounded the assailant. In this gripping interview, Investigator Hough shares:   1.How his training paid off under the stress of gunfire. 2.How he experienced the Fog of War, and he explains in detail what that means. 3.How he used a combat breathing technique to keep himself calm. 4.Why it is so important to get yourself mentally and physically prepared for the fight.         FEATURE TOPIC     An Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Investigator shot three times while working to take a violent fugitive into custody received the Medal of Valor from the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office today. His fellow OCSO officers involved in the incident were also recognized for their bravery.   Investigator Steve Hough was working outside the suspect’s Milton home December 9th, 2011 as part of a U-S Marshals Service perimeter team. There was very little area to provide cover a

I titled this episode: What I learned in two minutes. It is an interview Lieutenant Sean Dolan from the Aurora Fire Department. On January 7, 2013 Sean, then serving as a firefighter on Engine 7 became a close call survivor when he entered a structure fire at 16562 East Asbury Place, a single story residential fire with confirmed people trapped.   Sean made entry through the front door with an inch-and-three-quarter line to provide protection for the truck company crew that was searching for the known victim. As conditions took a turn for the worse, Sean was caught in the wake of a fast advancing fire. A mayday was called and Sean suffered second and third degree burns prior to being pulled to safety by a fellow firefighter.   While the entire experience lasted just two minutes, Sean has some great advice for others and he shares some powerful lessons learned including:   1.Having gut feelings (known as intuition) and how he ignored the warning signs of his intuition. He recognized the conditions and what n

On this episode I interview Indianapolis Fire Department Chief of Health and Safety, Doug Abernathy. Doug’s career has spanned almost three decades and on February 5, 1992, he had a close call event that, most unfortunately, took the lives of two of his brother firefighters. In this episode, you’ll learn about:   1. Doug’s close call that involved tunnel vision and running out of air on the third floor. 2. How he became disoriented and realized, for the first time in his life, he may die in a fire. 3.  How he was in shock and disbelief that he was carrying out downed firefighters. 4. How is training saved his life. 5. Reflection shared by Indiana State Fire Training Director, John Buckman, III       FEATURE TOPIC   It was just after midnight on Feb. 5, 1992, when 911 dispatchers got the call reporting smoke in the lobby of the old Athletic Club downtown, a nine-story, non-sprinklered building with a working fire in the third floor. Before the fire would be extinguished, Corporal Ellwood M. "Woody" Gelenius, 4

This episode is a recording of a near-miss panel discussion held at Fire-Rescue International in Dallas, Texas. The panel, consisting of Chief Josh Waldo (Oakridge, TN), Training Officer Andrew Beck (Mandan, ND) and myself discuss  three near events, including:   1.A live training burn near-miss involving the crazing of a facepiece. 2.A haz-mat call near-miss involving a Freon leak. 3.An EMS call near-miss involving a patient with weapons   You can visit them at www.FirefighterNearMiss.com   If you have experienced or witnessed a near miss and would like to be interviewed on this show, visit my companion site: www.CloseCallSurvivor.com and click on the Contact Us link. Thank you, in advance, for sharing your lessons learned so others may live.   Situational Awareness Matters! website www.SAMatters.com   On-Line Academy http://www.samatters.com/situational-awareness-matters-academy/   Upcoming Events Schedule http://www.samatters.com/programs-keynote/eventschedule/   Books and Videos (Store) http://www.sa

The SAMatters mission is simple… To help you see the bad things coming… in time to avoid bad outcomes.   On this episode….   1. We will look at the hot button issue of first responder fatigue. 2. We will review a near-miss report that emphasizes the importance of having a designated safety officer. 3. And I will discuss   a community question that addresses which, among the more than 100 situational awareness barriers, is the most pervasive.   Situational Awareness Matters! website www.SAMatters.com   On-Line Academy http://www.samatters.com/situational-awareness-matters-academy/   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/   Close Call Survivor Website www.CloseCallSurvivor.com   Contact Rich Gasaway www.RichGasaway.com Support@RichGasaway.com 612-548-4424

The SAMatters mission is simple… To help you see the bad things coming… in time to avoid bad outcomes.   On this episode….  1.We’ll discuss how radio traffic can impact situational awareness.  2.I’ll share a near-miss incident where a firefighter fell through an open crawl space hatch in a floor… left open by other firefighters.  3.Finally, I will answer one of the most often asked questions I receive… what does it cost to host a Situational Awareness Matters Tour Stop Event?   Situational Awareness Matters! website www.SAMatters.com   On-Line Academy http://www.samatters.com/situational-awareness-matters-academy/   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/   Close Call Survivor Website www.CloseCallSurvivor.com   Contact Rich Gasaway www.RichGasaway.com Support@RichGasaway.com 612-548-4424

On this episode I interview Dave Casey, Director of the Louisiana State Fire & Emergency Training Institute on the need for realistic first responder training. During the interview, Dave shared: 1.The need to turn off the PowerPoint, get out of the classroom, and into the field for hands-on training.  2.Some of the challenges associated with electronic learning. 3.The benefits of demonstrating skills during scenario-based evolutions.  4.The need to perform high fidelity training, combining all the practical skills together in complete practice scenarios. 5.The use of task books to track skill development.  6.Challenges with creating realism with gas-fired firefighting props.   Fire Engineering Magazine http://www.fireengineering.com/index.html   Fire Engineering Books and Videos http://www.pennwellbooks.com/fire.html   Dave Casey’s Consulting Business www.AscendLeadershipLLC.com http://TheRightSeat.us   Jones & Barlett Live Fire Training Book http://www.jblearning.com/catalog/9780763781880/   Interna

  Hello and welcome to episode 013 of the Situational Awareness Matters radio show. I am your host, Rich Gasaway.       The purpose of this show is to improve situational awareness and decision making for individuals and teams who work in high risk, high consequence environments.       The SAMatters mission is simple… To help you see the bad things coming… in time to avoid bad outcomes.       EPISODE OUTLINE       1.In the feature segment we’ll talk about training for failure, how it happens and I’ll offer some advice for how to overcome it. I’ll also include some discussion questions you can have amongst your members about training and whether there may be opportunities for improvement.       2.And we’ll share a near-miss report where a crew cut through the floorboard of a vehicle and into the gas tank – not on accident – on purpose.           FEATURE TOPIC       There are probably few things I say to a speaker that raises their ire more than:  You may be training your members to fail. I understand why an

Hello and welcome to episode 12 of the Situational Awareness Matters radio show. I am your host, Rich Gasaway.   The purpose of this show is to improve situational awareness and decision making for individuals and teams who work in high risk, high consequence environments.   The SAMatters mission is simple… To help you see the bad things coming… in time to avoid bad outcomes.   On this episode I had the pleasure of interviewing Alan Predmore, the fire chief in Buckley, Washington. I have had the opportunity to deliver multiple programs for the Buckley Fire Department over the past five years and this past February Chief Predmore invited me out to talk with the students in their recruit academy about situational awareness.   During that discussion, it was noted that a recruit with strong situational awareness may see something that has been overlooked by their officer or the incident commander and, when this occurs, the recruit may not, for a variety of reasons, speak up.   I shared with the class how this w

On this episode I had the opportunity to tour the Seattle Fire Department training facility and I sat down and talked with Phil Jose, the training chief for the Seattle Fire Department. During the interview, Chief Jose shared some of the things he is focused on to improve the situational awareness and decision making abilities of Seattle firefighters including:   1.Conducting Post Incident Analyses (PIA) of major fire incidents, defined as one that results in a firefighter injury, a civilian fatality, or a 3rd alarm or greater.   2.Their efforts toward officer development despite the challenges of operating short staffed (roughly 100 vacant firefighter positions).   3.How they are working to instill the core competencies of Trust, Competence and Vision in their members.   4.How they are working with company officers who would be arriving first-in at fires to develop situational awareness and make high quality decisions.   INFORMATION   If you are interested in attending a live event, you can check out the Sit