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 a...
Mar 31, 2015•56 min
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, ...
Mar 24, 2015•56 min
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-par...
Mar 17, 2015•52 min
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...
Mar 10, 2015•41 min
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 ...
Mar 03, 2015•53 min
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 Excell...
Feb 24, 2015•54 min
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 Ashevill...
Feb 17, 2015•47 min
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 ...
Feb 10, 2015•1 hr 14 min
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 mentor...
Feb 03, 2015•1 hr 7 min
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 incide...
Jan 27, 2015•55 min
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...
Jan 20, 2015•27 min
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. ...
Jan 13, 2015•1 hr 19 min
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. - Fa...
Jan 06, 2015•49 min
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. ...
Dec 30, 2014•1 hr 7 min
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. ...
Dec 23, 2014•1 hr 5 min
Situaitonal Awareness Webcast Firehouse.com https://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 ...
Dec 16, 2014•43 min
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 abo...
Dec 09, 2014•43 min
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...
Dec 02, 2014•22 min
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 ...
Nov 25, 2014•1 hr 10 min
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 ...
Nov 18, 2014•41 min
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 th...
Nov 11, 2014•1 hr
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,...
Nov 04, 2014•53 min
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 identit...
Oct 28, 2014•49 min
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. Th...
Oct 21, 2014•57 min
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...
Oct 14, 2014•45 min
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 atte...
Oct 07, 2014•42 min
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 reaso...
Oct 02, 2014•1 hr 1 min
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 ...
Sep 30, 2014•52 min
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 ...
Sep 22, 2014•37 min
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 Hea...
Sep 15, 2014•33 min
