On May 5, 2014 Perry Hall was part of an engine crew conducting a search when he got separated from his crew and accidentally locked in one of the worst places he could be – in a basement stairwell with the fire below him. Perry tells the story of the event and the post-traumatic stress that, literally, changed his life forever. Show Notes Contact Us www.SAMatters.com www.RichGasaway.com 612-548-4424 (office) 651-331-8518 (cell) SAMatters Social Media Facebook.com/SAMatters www.linkedin.com/in/r...
Sep 04, 2018•1 hr 1 min
On May 5, 2014 Perry Hall was part of an engine crew conducting a search when he got separated from his crew and accidentally locked in one of the worst places he could be – in a basement stairwell with the fire below him. Perry tells the story of the event and the post-traumatic stress that, literally, changed his life forever. Show Notes Contact Us www.SAMatters.com www.RichGasaway.com 612-548-4424 (office) 651-331-8518 (cell) SAMatters Social Media Facebook.com/SAMatters www.linkedin.com/in/r...
Aug 28, 2018•1 hr 11 min
On August 5, 2014 Assistant Fire Chief Jamie Middlebrook of New Carlisle Fire Department (Indiana) died after being trapped under a roof collapse while fighting a fire at a commercial storage building. A defensive fire attack was initiated. The assistant fire chief was one of three fire fighters who had entered Side A of the structure to stretch a 2½-inch hoseline to protect equipment and acetylene cylinders. The crew was operating approximately 50 feet inside the structure and then decided to c...
Aug 21, 2018•37 min
Disclaimer: The comments shared during this interview are of the individual and do not represent the views of any company, employer or agency. On August 6, 2012, the Chevron U.S.A. Inc. Refinery in Richmond, California, experienced a catastrophic pipe failure in the #4 Crude Unit. The pipe ruptured, releasing flammable, hydrocarbon process fluid which partially vaporized into a large vapor cloud that engulfed nineteen Chevron employees. All of the employees escaped, narrowly avoiding serious inj...
Aug 14, 2018•46 min
On August 6, 2012, the Chevron U.S.A. Inc. Refinery in Richmond, California, experienced a catastrophic pipe failure in the #4 Crude Unit. The pipe ruptured, releasing flammable, hydrocarbon process fluid which partially vaporized into a large vapor cloud that engulfed nineteen Chevron employees. All of the employees escaped, narrowly avoiding serious injury. The flammable portion of the vapor cloud ignited just over two minutes after the pipe ruptured. The ignition and subsequent continued burn...
Aug 07, 2018•44 min
Like many of you, I do my best work when I am not interrupted. Whether it’s someone trying to carry on a conversation, a phone ringing or a text message, an interruption disrupts my train of thought. And when the train of thought is disrupted, situational awareness can be adversely impacted. Our Sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com Contact Us www.SAMatters.com www.RichGasaway.com 612-548-4424 (office) 651-331-8518 (cell) SAMatters Social Media Facebook.com/SAMatters www.linkedin.com/in/richgasa...
Jul 31, 2018•16 min
On this episode (Part 2 of 2) I interview with Indianapolis Health & Safety Chief Doug Abernathy. At the time of the fire Doug had served on the Indianapolis Fire Department for four years. While this was a near-miss event for Doug, the incident resulted in the death of two of his comrades, Corporal Ellwood (Woody) Gelenius and Private John Lorenzano. Our sponsor: Midwest Fire www.MidwestFire.com Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hats GMC - Virgin Records Licensed by BMI Music Imag...
Jul 24, 2018•53 min
On this episode (Part 1 of 2) I interview with Indianapolis Health & Safety Chief Doug Abernathy. At the time of the fire Doug had served on the Indianapolis Fire Department for four years. While this was a near-miss event for Doug, the incident resulted in the death of two of his comrades, Corporal Ellwood (Woody) Gelenius and Private John Lorenzano. Our sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hats GMC - Virgin Records Licensed by BMI Music Image Cr...
Jul 17, 2018•54 min
On this episode (Part 2 of 2) I interview with Captain John Lightly. At the time of the recording of this episode John had 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. 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 caugh...
Jul 10, 2018•1 hr 17 min
On this episode (Part 1 of 2) I interview with Captain John Lightly. At the time of the recording of this episode John had 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. 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 caugh...
Jul 03, 2018•55 min
I titled the original episode (#18) “What I learned in two minutes.” This is an interview with Lieutenant Sean Dolan from the Aurora Fire Department. On January 7, 2013 Sean, then serving as a firefighter on Engine 7 became a near-miss survivor when he entered a structure fire at 16562 East Asbury Place, a single story residential fire with confirmed people trapped. Our sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hats GMC - Virgin Records Licensed by BMI Mus...
Jun 26, 2018•1 hr 19 min
It’s not something talked about often, especially in high-risk work environments – overstaffing. Far more often the focus is on issues of understaffing which, coincidentally, can be a significant barrier to situational awareness and can have a catastrophic impact on safety. There can be, on occasion, scenarios where a worksite or an emergency scene can end up having too many people and that can cause problems. Our sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without ...
Jun 19, 2018•29 min
Some people confuse tunnel vision and task fixation. This episode explains the difference and provides best practices for developing and maintaining situational awareness. Our sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hats GMC - Virgin Records Licensed by BMI Music Situational Awareness Matters! website www.SAMatters.com Firefighter Near Miss Reporting System http://www.firefighternearmiss.com/ Contact Rich Gasaway www.RichGasaway.com Support@RichGasaway.c...
Jun 12, 2018•30 min
On May 5, 2015, Chicopee Fire Deputy Chief Dave Beauregard responded to a report of an electrical fire – reported to already be out – at an industrial facility on Meadow Street in Chicopee. Chief Beauregard discusses how his complacency contributed to a near-miss that if circumstances were just slightly different it could have killed him. Our sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hats GMC - Virgin Records Licensed by BMI Music Situational Awareness Mat...
Jun 05, 2018•50 min
On May 5, 2015, Chicopee Fire Deputy Chief Dave Beauregard responded to a report of an electrical fire – reported to already be out – at an industrial facility on Meadow Street in Chicopee. Chief Beauregard discusses how his complacency contributed to a near-miss that if circumstances were just slightly different it could have killed him. Our sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hats GMC - Virgin Records Licensed by BMI Music Situational Awareness Mat...
May 29, 2018•46 min
On March 20, 2003, Twinsburg Firefighter-Paramedic Jim Woolf responded on Engine 4 to a reported electrical fire in an apartment building under construction. The fire was reported to have been extinguished by workers on-site. On arrival there was nothing showing and the crews went to the second floor to investigate. What happened next was entirely unexpected and, as Jim stated, could have easily killed him. Our sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hat...
May 22, 2018•44 min
On March 20, 2003, Twinsburg Firefighter-Paramedic Jim Woolf responded on Engine 4 to a reported electrical fire in an apartment building under construction. The fire was reported to have been extinguished by workers on-site. On arrival there was nothing showing and the crews went to the second floor to investigate. What happened next was entirely unexpected and, as Jim stated, could have easily killed him. Our sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hat...
May 15, 2018•42 min
In 2007, Situational Awareness Matters was founded, initially, to help first responder improve high-risk decision making. From a single program delivered at a conference a movement was started that now includes over 100,000 program attendees, newsletter subscribers and social media followers. This episode shares personal reflections from Dr. Gasaway and others who have been impacted by his teachings. Our sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hats GMC -...
May 08, 2018•45 min
This was my 20th year presenting at the Fire Department Instructors Conference. This is the first time I’ve dedicated an episode of the podcast to observations I made from the classes I attended and the attendees I talked with. Our sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hats GMC - Virgin Records Licensed by BMI Music Situational Awareness Matters! website www.SAMatters.com Firefighter Near Miss Reporting System http://www.firefighternearmiss.com/ Contac...
May 01, 2018•1 hr 4 min
Tacit knowledge is that collection of life’s experiences, education and training that resides outside conscious awareness. It’s the knowledge one possesses that helps tap into intuition, a vital component to making high-stress, high-consequence, and rapid decisions. Our sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hats GMC - Virgin Records Licensed by BMI Music Situational Awareness Matters! website www.SAMatters.com Firefighter Near Miss Reporting System htt...
Apr 24, 2018•31 min
If we’re being honest with ourselves, we know that not all team members are created equal. It is a situational awareness best practice to know the strengths (and weaknesses) of your team before engaging in high-risk, high-consequence activities. Our sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hats GMC - Virgin Records Licensed by BMI Music Situational Awareness Matters! website www.SAMatters.com Firefighter Near Miss Reporting System http://www.firefighterne...
Apr 17, 2018•29 min
Because individuals and teams frequently operate in environments where there are multiple auditory inputs (e.g., radio traffic, face-to-face communications, ambient sounds, etc.) they are often forced to prioritize what they listen to (or don’t listen to). This can cause issues with situational awareness. Our sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hats GMC - Virgin Records Licensed by BMI Music Situational Awareness Matters! website www.SAMatters.com Fi...
Apr 10, 2018•27 min
Arguably, to accomplish a mission, it would be very beneficial to have a shared set of goals that everyone understands and everyone is working on together in a unified way to accomplish. Shared goals can contribute to shared situational awareness – a common understanding of what is happening and what the plan of action entails – Answering questions like: What is being done and why? What is the strategy and why? What is each person’s role? How are the roles interconnected? It is easier to functio...
Apr 03, 2018•30 min
Anyone who’s been frustrated knows it can consume a lot of your mental energy and thinking space. This can significantly impact your situational awareness. In fact, depending on the level of frustration, your brain can be hijacked by all-consuming thoughts about what is causing your angst. While operating in a high-risk, high-stress environment, frustration may draw your attention away from perceiving or understanding critical inputs that form awareness. Our sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com...
Mar 27, 2018•27 min
We make assumptions every day. Some of them are accurate. Others are not. Assumptions occur when there is an absence of complete information. Such is the case at just about every high-risk, high-consequence event you must deal with. Let’s explore how we make assumptions. An assumption is a mental guess or estimate. In the absence of complete information, you are forced to fill in the missing information with your best guess. This guess is based on your collective knowledge (training, experience ...
Mar 20, 2018•27 min
We rationalize that because we are operating in conditions of stress and consequence, with urgency and a feeling of pressure to perform quickly, we can take shortcuts to our best practices. Some even go as far as to rationalize that we SHOULD shortcut our safety best practices when faced with conditions that are urgent. This episode explores how shortcuts, rewarded with successful outcomes can lead to normalization of deviance. Our sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com Intro music Safety Dance (...
Mar 13, 2018•29 min
The premise behind relationship bias is that we tend to be attracted toward (and like) people whom we know well and to whom we know share similar interests. The stronger our relationship with another person, the more likely we are to believe them when they tell us something. The weaker the relationship, the less likely we are to believe the other person. Our sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hats GMC - Virgin Records Licensed by BMI Music Situation...
Mar 06, 2018•29 min
When everything goes as planned, your expectations are met and situational awareness is easily formed and sustained. However, sometimes your expectations are violated. In other words, your beautifully constructed mental model of the outcomes of an event are flawed. When this happens, your brain can become overwhelmed with confusion. It can also lead to anger and frustration because your brain doesn’t like to be wrong. This, in turn, can impact your situational awareness. Our sponsor: Midwest Fir...
Feb 27, 2018•33 min
In the early morning hours of January 17, 2016, Chesterfield County Fire & EMS responded to a residential fire on Wicklow Lane that would result in fire civilian fire fatalities, including 2 children. This three-part interview chronicles the event, the situational awareness challenges and the lessons learned from the first-in captain and the first arriving battalion chief. See the FULL interview on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/M0KHehMIQXc Our sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com Intro music...
Feb 20, 2018•50 min
In the early morning hours of January 17, 2016, Chesterfield County Fire & EMS responded to a residential fire on Wicklow Lane that would result in fire civilian fire fatalities, including 2 children. This three-part interview chronicles the event, the situational awareness challenges and the lessons learned from the first-in captain and the first arriving battalion chief. Our sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hats GMC - Virgin Records Licensed...
Feb 13, 2018•58 min•Ep. 199
