SAMatters Radio

Eugene-Springfield crews were dispatched to a report of a residential fire with multiple callers confirming a residential dwelling fire.  As the officer on the first-in engine was conducting his primary size-up from the front seat of the engine, a gunman opened fire on the engine, striking it several times.  Firefighters were already advancing lines on the fire.  They were also shot.  This story i...

Merry Christmas everyone! I know everyone's feeling particularly festive this time of year and ole Santa is feeling the situational awareness love. Surely, you've heard of the "Twelve Days of Christmas." – You know – Partridge in a Pear Tree and all that other stuff that no one really needs or wants, perhaps with the exception of five golden rings, of course. (Whisper) Just don't wear them all at...

Lieutenant Alden is a paramedic and operations officer for the Akron (OH) Fire Department. He has 17+ years of experience as a firefighter and 15 + years as a paramedic. He is also a member of the SWAT Tactical Medic program. Alden has a master of arts degree in applied behavioral sciences from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, and a baccalaureate degree in sociology/criminology from Urbana...

Lieutenant Alden is a paramedic and operations officer for the Akron (OH) Fire Department. He has 17+ years of experience as a firefighter and 15 + years as a paramedic. He is also a member of the SWAT Tactical Medic program. Alden has a master of arts degree in applied behavioral sciences from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, and a baccalaureate degree in sociology/criminology from Urbana...

John Gonzalez is a past District Chief of Toms River Fire District 1 in Ocean County, NJ and has been an active volunteer firefighter for over 30 years.  Chief Gonzalez served as a fire officer for 15 years, including 6 at Chief level for one of the largest all volunteer departments in the state of New Jersey.  Additionally, Chief Gonzalez served as a Deputy Fire Coordinator in the Toms River Offi...

On September 4, Grayhawk bass player, Darin Wall, stopped a potential mass shooting by preventing a man from gaining entry into a private party at an event where the band had played earlier in the evening.  Wall thought the man was acting strange, so he confronted him.  The man pulled a gun and in the scuffle, Wall was shot in the leg.  The man was quickly apprehended and, in his back pack, were s...

Stan Mettinger was setting up a training scenario that involved setting vehicles on fire.  He was using diesel fuel to ignite hay inside the vehicle when the vapors flashed and set Stan on fire resulting in first, second and third degree burns.

On May 26, 2021, Monte Fronk, native American and Emergency Manager for the Mille Lacs Bank of Ojibwe received the most unimaginable news a father could receive. His daughter had been violently murdered. This episode, dedicated to Monte's daughter, Nada, chronicles the events surrounding her murder, the fire department's response and the traditions of our spiritual journey.  Monte closes with tips...

On May 26, 2021, Monte Fronk, native American and Emergency Manager for the Mille Lacs Bank of Ojibwe received the most unimaginable news a father could receive. His daughter had been violently murdered. This episode, dedicated to Monte's daughter, Nada, chronicles the events surrounding her murder, the fire department's response and the traditions of our spiritual journey.  Monte closes with tips...

In the early days of decision making research, most of the studies were conducted in college classrooms and laboratories. These settings were nothing like the high-risk, high-consequence environments faced by public safety providers. Nonetheless, the traditional decision making process does have its place and we'll discuss where.   Contact us   www. SAMatters.com   www. RichGasaway.com   612-548-4...

Under the best of conditions there can be miscommunications. When you add stress, uncertainty, changing conditions, and risk, communications can become very challenging. The first level of developing situational awareness is capturing the clues and cues from the environment. This includes capturing verbal clues and cues from dispatchers and responders. To miss radio communications is to miss clues...

Challenges to a decision maker's situational awareness from issues related to staffing were among the most significant findings from my research. I can make this bold statement for several reasons. First, from the multiple card sort exercise, forty‑three percent of the cards selected by commanders were for issues that related to staffing. Second, when I evaluated existing studies on the barriers t...

Flawed situational awareness (SA) is one of the leading contributing factors to first responder near-miss and casualty events. In fact, it is nearly impossible to find a line-of-duty death investigation report that does not implicate flawed SA, or one of the barriers that flaw SA, as contributing to the tragedy. As often as flawed SA is implicated it almost seems tragic how little first responders...

Your highest level of situational awareness is formed when you are able to make accurate predictions about future events. In neuroscience, this is called projection and it simply means you are able to predict, or project, the future events. This is accomplished through mental models you develop that are founded in your training and experience.   Contact us   www. SAMatters.com   www. RichGasaway.c...

Your highest level of situational awareness is formed when you are able to make accurate predictions about future events. In neuroscience, this is called projection and it simply means you are able to predict, or project, the future events. This is accomplished through mental models you develop that are founded in your training and experience.   Contact us   www. SAMatters.com   www. RichGasaway.c...

Complacency is a dangerous affliction and a very challenging barrier to situational awareness for workers in high-risk environments. When a worker becomes complacent they let their guard down. What does that mean? It's a cliché – to let your guard down. It means the worker is no longer paying attention to the dangerous environment they are in. Contact us   www. SAMatters.com   www. RichGasaway.com...

Along a worker's journey toward envisioning, developing, and implementing their plan to guide their (hopefully) successful outcome, they are likely to encounter two situational awareness barriers that can quickly derail their focus.   Distractions and interruptions occur for different reasons but have the same result. Both can draw a worker's attention (and focus) away from goal setting and action...

Short-term memory can create a formidable challenge to situational awareness. Long-term memory is huge, some might argue it's limitless. Short-term memory, not so much. The capacity of the average person's short-term memory is about seven pieces of unrelated information, give or take a few. We'll discuss this challenge and some tips for how to work around this cognitive shortcoming. Contact us   w...

Dr. Donnie explores the health and wellness qualities that make for successful firefighters and other first responders at work and home.  He teaches how and why firefighters and first responders need to put their physical, psychological, social, and spiritual needs first.  Dr. Donnie educates first responders that the greater they care for themselves, the better they will be able to serve their co...

Dr. Donnie explores the health and wellness qualities that make for successful firefighters and other first responders at work and home.  He teaches how and why firefighters and first responders need to put their physical, psychological, social, and spiritual needs first.  Dr. Donnie educates first responders that the greater they care for themselves, the better they will be able to serve their co...

John Moore lives in Southwest Ohio with his wife of nearly 15 years and their two children (ages 7 and 9). He attended Sinclair Community College directly out of high school and earned his firefighter 2, fire inspector, and paramedic certifications. He worked part-time for Clearcreek Fire District before being hired by the City of Kettering Fire Department as a career firefighter-paramedic in Octo...

John Moore lives in Southwest Ohio with his wife of nearly 15 years and their two children (ages 7 and 9). He attended Sinclair Community College directly out of high school and earned his firefighter 2, fire inspector, and paramedic certifications. He worked part-time for Clearcreek Fire District before being hired by the City of Kettering Fire Department as a career firefighter-paramedic in Octo...

This Q&A session addresses questions from recent live situational awareness programs. Much of the inspiration for the blog posts come from participant questions but this may be the first podcast episode dedicated to questions asked during live events. The three questions we address include:   What can I do to improve my intuition?   What can I do as first responders to combat information overload?...

The red flags discussed in the episode are clues and cues that provide conscious (overt) awareness of what is going on or subconscious (covert) awareness of what may be going on. The red flags are clues and cues that indicate things may not be right for an interior entry.   Contact us   www. SAMatters.com   www. RichGasaway.com   612-548-4424 (office)   Let's Get connected   Facebook: Follow SAMat...

I get asked a lot of questions about what the first arriving company officer should do at a working structure fire. Specifically, the debate revolves around two basic premise. Should the first arriving company officer assume a fixed command position outside the structure and coordinate the activities of incoming units? Or, should the first arriving company officer assume a "working command" or "mo...