Samatters Radio

On this episode I interview Jack Sullivan, Director of Training for the Responder Safety Institute. The mission of the Institute is to reduce highway incidents involving first responders and to minimize the impact of responders who are involved in these incidents.   Our discussion was recorded at the National Volunteer Fire Council Summit in Myrtle Beach where Jack was presenting on highway incident safety and I was presenting program on Thirty deadly situational awareness barriers.   Thank you to the fifty-plus people who attended my session and for sharing your wonderful feedback. The one seasoned veteran who noted: “I realized I don’t know what I thought I knew” is a common response to this program. Rest easy, my friend. I am trying very hard to change that… through the articles on the website, the on-line academy, the books, the videos, the live programs and of course, through this radio show. Stick with me and we’ll change that for you.   During this interview, Jack shares:   1.How a seemingly routine in

On this episode we walk with Captain John Wright from the Flower Mound (Texas) Fire Department. Captain Wright survived an extremely close call while operating as an interior search crew at a residential dwelling fire.   On June 17, 2011 the Flower Mound Fire Department along with several mutual aid companies responded to a residential structure fire.  During the incident, Captain Wright and Firefighter Trujillo became overrun by fire on the second floor.  The rapidly increasing fire disorientated them and they became lost in the fire room.  After the Mayday was called, Firefighter Trujillo located two small windows on the wall opposite of where the fire had broken through the wall.  Both men made a narrow escape seconds before the room flashed.       As you listen you’ll hear him share some very strong lessons related to numerous situational awareness barriers. You’ll hear him share how he was:   ·  Afflicted by a sense of urgency ·  How muscle memory from past training impacted his performance ·  How uncons

  In episode 2, I spoke a little bit about complacency. The feedback was awesome, thank you everyone for that.   1. In this episode I will continue on that topic and share a how a false alarm mindset can lead to complacency.   2. In the near-miss report we will share an incident where complacency caused a firefighter to fall through a weakened floor at a residential dwelling fire.   3. And in the question/answer segment, we will explore why the “Blind Search” drill may be a set-up for failure and consequence.     FEATURE TOPIC   Another False Alarm: A Tale of Complacency Complacency is a big deal for first responders because it impacts your situational awareness on multiple levels. I would like to give every responder the benefit of the doubt that if or when they have found him or herself being complacent that it was not happening on purpose. In other words, I hope every responder desires to be diligent and alert. Yet, complacency still gets us. I recently had an up close and personal experience with this tha

  On this episode we celebrate the International Fire/EMS Safety and Health Week. My guest is Ryan Pennington, webmaster at Views from the Jumpseat and host of Jumpseat Radio. We are talking about the International Fire and EMS Safety and Health Week and its theme: Train like you fight!   INFORMATION   If you are interested in attending a live event, you can check out the Situational Awareness Matters Tour Stop schedule at: SAMatters.com. Click on the Program and Keynotes tab just below the header. Then click on the Events Schedule tab. If I am in your area, I hope you will consider attending a live event.   If you are not able to attend a live event, consider signing up for the SAMatters On-Line Academy. The Academy contains videos and articles that cover the same content as a three-day live tour event, delivered in 14 modules you can go through at your own pace, from your own computer.   If you sign-up for the Academy Plus version you will also receive four situational awareness books that are cross-referen

Hello and welcome to episode 7 of the Situational Awareness Matters radio show. I’m 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 stress, high consequence environments. Our mission is simple… To help you see the bad things coming… in time to prevent bad outcomes.     I am broadcasting to you today from my Situational Awareness Matters Get in the Loop Tour Stop in Erwin, Tennessee where I am training 950 employees from Nuclear Fuel Services on situational awareness and the challenges faced by industrial workers. NFS processes the uranium that powers the nuclear navy. I am honored they have engaged me in a multi-year contract to help improve the safety of their employees. Thank you NFS for this opportunity.     On this episode we’ll talk about:   1. The Line of Duty Death of Asheville Fire Captain Jeff Bowen.   2. In the near-miss lesson learned we’ll talk about an incident where flawed situational awareness l

  On this episode we’ll talk 1. Briefly about the myth of multitasking 2. We’ll listen to an interview I recorded with a wildland firefighting safety officer with 40 years of experience on the line. 1. Developing the mindset of a Just Culture in the wildland firefighting community. 2. Why a culture of compliance won’t work. 3. How age brought wisdom and helped Wayne realize the need for instant gratification was far less important than the goal to bring everyone home in one piece. 4. His view on fire shelters and their limitations and why he says he would not carry one unless he was forced to and why he thinks the fire shelter is “a political piece of equipment.” 5. His Close Call Survivor Story on the Salmon River and how the situational awareness barrier of task fixation put him in a tight spot that, reflecting back, left a margin of less than 5 minutes between life and death.  He’s tell you how a “feeling of urgency” saved his life. This is what I refer to in the Mental Management of Emergencies class as “

  On this episode we’ll talk about… 1. The role of emotions in decision making. 2. I’ll share a report about a  first responder who had a near-miss with a chain saw. 3. And we’ll talk about why so few first responders and industrial workers are being taught about situational awareness.   FEATURE TOPIC How you decide to do something… or not do something is a complex process that involves multiple brain regions. Are decisions made with the rational brain or the intuitive brain? The answer, surprisingly, is both. Rational judgment allows you to process facts and data essential to good decision making. Intuition allows you to tap into past training and experiences and quickly glean the lessons of your successes and failures – lessons seeded deep into memory by… emotions. The role of emotions Some think that the best decisions are rational decisions, devoid of all emotion. This is a fallacy. In fact, it would be impossible to make a good decision if you were somehow able to shut off the emotional control center of

  On this episode we’ll talk about…     1. The importance of completing a 360 degree size-up.     2. We’ll share a near-miss event where a combination of inexperience, freelancing, and assumptions led to a loss of accountability.     3. And we’ll address a community member’s question about how to develop expert knowledge in younger officers who are seeing less fires.     FEATURE TOPIC     Situational awareness starts with capturing clues and cues in your environment. It’s really quite a simple premise. To capture clues and cues requires seeing or hearing them. At a structure fire, the visual clues and cues occupy a finite environment- the building and the space around the building. I am nothing short of astounded by the number of firefighters telling me they don’t complete a 360° size up of a structure fire before making entry. I was inspired for this podcast topic from two recent accounts shared with me.   Into the basement we went   The first account came to me by way of a firefighter sharing a near-miss ev

  On this episode we’ll talk about…   1.Positive and negative clues and cues that form situational awareness.   2.We will share a near-miss event where a first responder was nearly run over by a fire department command vehicle.   3.And we will address a dilemma where a listener shares his concern about his department training officer and the seemingly lack of interest in conducting mayday and rapid intervention training because, as the listener writes… He thinks it will never happen here.   FEATURE TOPIC   As we train our employees to improve situational awareness it is important the lessons include a list of both positive and negative clues and cues that a worker must understand in order to develop and maintain strong situational awareness. In the context of developing situational awareness, positive and negative does not mean good and bad. Rather, positive and negative means present and absent. Let me explain.   Not all clues and cues are created equal   In the process of developing situational awareness it

  On this episode we’ll talk about…   1.Habits, routines and complacency.   2.We will look at a near-miss event where tunnel vision and complacency may have flawed situational awareness.   3.And we will address a question from an SAMatters community member about how to make mayday training more realistic.   FEATURE TOPIC   We all know we have habits. Some of them are good habits. And some of them are…well… not so good. The less often talked about cousin of a habit is a routine. Habits and routines can definitely impact your situational awareness in both good and bad ways.   But where do habits and routines come from? Does a habit turn into a routine? Or does a routine turn into a habit? Do habits and routines prevent complacency or do they contribute to complaceny? All good questions. Let’s explore habits, routines and complacency.   Habits Webster defines a habit as: A behavior pattern acquired by frequent repetition or physiologic exposure that shows itself in regularity or increased facility of performance

Welcome to the first episode of the Situational Awareness Matters! Radio show.   And since this is the first episode I thought it would be appropriate to share with you how the back story of how Situational Awareness Matters got started.   You will also be provided with a good working definition for situational awareness and explanation as to why it is so darn important to the process of making good decisions.   The focus of this show is to improve situational awareness and decision making… for individuals and teams… working in high stress, high consequence environments.   Our mission is simple… To help you see the bad things coming… in time to change the outcome.   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.firefighternear