Failure to recognize unsafe situations. Failure to prevent unsafe actions. Failure to deliver effective operations. These are the results of poor situational awareness in emergency responders of all levels. This program uses real-life case studies and in-class exercises to train emergency responders in applying the six steps of situational awareness and action so that on the fireground and in the field they can be aware, alert, aggressive, always! Who - Emergency Responders of all levels What - Situational Awareness Where - on the fireground / in the field When - at all times Why - for safe and effective action How - through understanding and applying the six steps of Situational Awareness and ACTION WOW - using real life case studies and in-class exercises

6. Become Aware
Keep Alert
Be Aggressive
Always

7. Perceive
Process
Predict
Decide
Take Action
Communicate
& Coordinate

12. Defined as
• “Knowing what is going on so you
can figure out what to do."
Involves
• Perceiving, Processing, & Predicting
• Decision Making, Taking Action,
Communicating & Coordinating

14. What critical
Cues & Clues?
What is going
on?
Where is it
going (and
how fast)?
Decide on
Action to
help!
Take Effective
Action!
Communicate
& Coordinate!

15. Perceive
Process
Predict
Decide
Take Action
Communicate
& Coordinate

17. Perceive

18. Information does NOT
DEMAND your attention
You MUST seek / scan
for critical clues & cues

19. Change in location (including arrival)
Change in task (including receiving assignment)
Change in resources (tools, water, crew, etc.)
Change in conditions (or conditions do not change)
YOU MUST ACTIVELY…
PERCEIVE, PROCESS, PREDICT
DECIDE, TAKE ACTION, COMMUNICATE & COORD.

21. Cold
General Scanning for SA
Warm
Specific Scanning for SA+A
Hot
Focused Scanning for SA+A

27. •Intuition
•Gut Feeling
•Hunch
•Instinct
•Expertise
•Sixth Sense
•Feeling
•Insight

28. Unit
Condition
Action
Needs

30. Perceive
Process

31. Perceived information is filtered and
prioritized to identify critical clues & cues
Critical clues and cues form a Mental Model
Processing is based on education and
experience (if reflective)

33. Perceive
Process
Predict

34. It is going in this direction
At this rate
With these results if we don’t intervene

36. Perceive
Process
Predict
Decide

37. Classic decision making
• Define, Goals, Options, Select, Act, Evaluate
Recognition Primed Decision Making
• Reflex decision making based on previous
experience
• Pattern matching from long term memory
• Right experience helps right pattern matching
• Pattern matching to observations not
assumptions

39. Perceive
Process
Predict
Decide
Take Action

42. Perceive
Process
Predict
Decide
Take Action
Communicate&
Coordinate

44. If You See Something,
Say Something
If you are in charge,
LISTEN!

45. Perceive
Process
Predict
Decide
Take Action
Communicate

47. 1st PERCEIVE
2nd PROCESS
3rd PREDICT
Thick, Fast Smoke, Open
Door, Lowering Neutral Plane
Bad Flow Path
Flashover

48. 1st Decide
2nd Take Action
3rd Communicate
Close Door, or Spray
Water, or Vent
Close Door
UCAN Report

52. Loud Noise
Sudden Light
Sudden Movement
Sudden Person / Object

54. Prioritize
Delegate
Deflect
Streamline

56. Prioritize
Delegate
Deflect
Automate

61. Decision making becomes intuitive (System 1)
Hypervigilant and easily distracted
Attention focus is narrowed
Struggle to understand and process complex information
Revert to behaviors that are routine, comfortable, or habit
• We do not rise to the occasion, we fall back on our training.
• We do not train until we get it right, we train until we do not get it wrong.

66. You will naturally confirm your expectations
You will naturally ignore conflicts with expectations
Conflicts must be immediateRED FLAGS
Look for MISSING critical clues and cues.
• “I didn’t see this, but I should have.”
• “If it was THIS, then I SHOULD see THAT.”

68. Perceive
Process
Predict
Decide
Take Action
Communicate&
Coordinate

69. • The OODA Loop
• Observe
• Orient
• Decide
• Act
• Loop
F-86 Sabre
MiG 15

70. • The OODA Loop
• Observe - Perceive
• Orient – Process & Predict
• Decide - Decide
• Act – Take Action, Communicate & Coord.
• Loop – Then do it again, rapidly

71. Pattern matching accelerates decision
making for experienced firefighters
No reflective experience with this situation
will not help
Over reliance can lead to expectation errors

72. System 1: Intuition
•Fast, automatic, frequent, emotional,
stereotypic, subconscious
System 2: Reasoning
•Slow, effortful, infrequent, logical,
calculating, conscious

73. System 2 is most active
System 1 is always trying to take control
Critical Situations trigger System 2
System 2 will seek info as needed
We train to make things System 1

74. Do not commit to an action
and then simply focus on that
action.
Do not wait until the action is
complete to re-scan for SA+A.

75. Will our action be able to achieve our goal
in time?
If the answer is no, pick something that you
CAN do something about.
Do not pick a strategy or tactic that is not
going to change the outcome.
• Flowing not enough water
• Committing to search with a low survivability profile

78. RESCUE

79. Train like you fight.
Fight like you train.

80. Become Aware
Keep Alert
Be Aggressive
Always

82. Perceive
Process
Predict
Decide
Take Action
Communicate
& Coordinate

84. Unit
Condition
Action
Needs

88. • The OODA Loop
• Observe - Perceive
• Orient – Process & Predict
• Decide - Decide
• Act – Take Action & Communicate
• Loop – Then do it again, rapidly