Could playing golf improve your fireground situational awareness? One study seems to suggest so. While playing golf with his son, a neuroscience researcher began to contemplate the nexus between what it takes to achieve success on the golf course and how that might apply to firefighters.
After all, the principles of situational awareness should be universal, he hypothesized. What would this look like? Based on previous research he had conducted with firefighters, he already knew that situational awareness was developed and maintained on three levels:
Level 1: Capture the most critical clues and cues (not ALL… just the most critical ones).
Level 2: Process those clues and cues (perhaps melded together with some less important things that are being observed) to form an assessment of the current situation.
Level 3: Make predictions of future events, by running mental models (mental movies) of various outcomes. Pick the one that has the best possible outcome and put that plan into action.
He was on the third tee box when he had this revelation. Consciously he thought to himself: “What are the most important clues and cues I need to gather for this shot – Length of the hole, hazards to avoid, wind direction, best landing spot to set-up the next shot. That’s the short list he thought as he surveyed the landscape. (Level 1 Situational Awareness: Capture clues and cues).
Then he began to contemplate what all of those clues and cues meant when they were put together. The hole was a par 4 which meant it was too long for him to reach with his first shot so driving the green was out of the question (option eliminated). There was a lake running down the left side of the fairway (hazard to avoid). The right side of the fairway was relatively open with a few trees that could present a challenge if the ball were to land behind one of them. The wind was coming from right to left at about 5 mile-per-hour. This was valuable information because a high shot (with a lot of hang time) might cause the ball to drift toward the left (where the water hazard was). Based on these factors and the green/pin location, he determined the best landing spot would be somewhere on the right side of the fairway. (Level 2 Situational Awareness: Putting together all the clues and cues from Level 1 to assess the current situation.
Finally, a club selection had to be made based on all the previous factors. Would it be the driver? No, too risky. Would it be a 9-iron? No, not enough distance would be gained to allow for the green to be reached on his second shot. The researcher settled on his 5 iron and he took a couple of practice swings. For each practice swing, he imagined the club striking the ball perfectly and the trajectory of the ball leading it right to the intended landing zone. He had ran a mental model – making a prediction of the future (Level 3 Situaitonal Awareness: Projecting future outcomes).
As he was in the middle of his backswing… “FOOOOORRRRE!” came echoing across the fairway. But it was too late, he was mid-swing and while he heard the scream and knew that it meant there was an incoming ball from another golfer on the course, he could not stop the momentum of his swing (even though he knew he should). But the yodel, nonetheless, drew his conscious attention to the possibility of being struck by the wayward shot. He had been, effectively, distracted… one of the leading causes of lost situational awareness on the fireground had reared its ugly head on the #3 tee box.
{{{ Plunk }}} was the awful sound made as his ball landed in the lake on the left side of the fairway, just as the erratically struck ball from the other fairway rolled right up on to the very tee box the researcher stood on. The golfer/researcher was overwhelmed with frustration, both at himself and with the other golfer who had been so discourteous as to yell right in the middle of his backswing.
Once I calmed down... er... once he... HE calmed down, he realized that developing and maintaining situational awareness on the golf course is more like situational awareness on the fire scene than he had ever previously imagined.
If there were ever a reason to play more golf, this is it! Happy Independence Day.
Fire Chief (ret.), Richard B. Gasaway, PhD, EFO, CFO, MICP
Golfer/Researcher
Chief Scientist, Public Safety Laboratory
Executive Director, Center for the Advancement of Situational Awareness & Decision Making
www.RichGasaway.com
P.S. I picked the ball up off the tee box, put it in my pocket, and considered it just compensation for my pain and suffering.
Showing posts with label risk-benefit assessment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label risk-benefit assessment. Show all posts
Monday, July 4, 2011
Friday, January 1, 2010
When will the jobs come back?
If there is one thing about the recession that has caused my heart to ache it’s the reduction in firefighter staffing in many communities. Some economists have argued that economic downturns can force businesses and governments to examine their operations and find more efficient ways to operate. On the surface that sounds good. We want our governments to operate efficiently and we want to be good stewards of the public dollar.
However, the budgets of many fire departments have been chiseled away over the past ten years and all the while these departments were taking steps to reduce expenses and improve their efficiencies. Stated another way, they have become mean and lean, finding creative ways to provide the most essential services with minimal staffing. There was no more proverbial blood in the turnip. So, when cities looked for the next round of cuts there was nothing left to cut except personnel.
Now we’re being told by the economists and the federal government that the recession is over. So what is to come of fire departments in a post-recession (recovery) period? Will the jobs come back? My prediction is they will not (at least not in the short term). I am not a pessimist and I so much want to see the jobs of my brothers and sisters restored.
In my travels I have kept tuned in to what local leaders have been saying, both publicly and privately. This is what I hear them saying… Fire departments have been over staffed and over funded for years and the recession gave elected and appointed leaders the opportunity (a good excuse) to cut out the “excess” with a good reason to propose reductions (the economy). Some of these elected and appointed officials give me the appearance they are actually smug and gloating in their successful attempts to reduce the size of the fire department.
Some fire department leaders have vocally opposed the reductions. Some leaders have resigned their positions or retired out of protest. Union leaders have stood their ground, but only with marginal success.
So when will the jobs come back? My prediction is the jobs will return very slowly, if at all. I also predict that it will take a crisis to reinstate firefighter (and for that matter police officer jobs). We all know this type of reaction is commonplace. There has to be an incident that results in serious injuries or fatalities. Then, and only then, do the elected and appointed officials begin to take grief from their constituents and the calls for action are heeded.
My concern is this: Firefighters are sworn protectors of humankind. Firefighters are wired for action. And unlike some elected and appointed leaders, firefighters will not play politics with the lives of residents. All of this spells the potential for the crisis previously mentioned to involve the lives of firefighters.
I am hopeful that firefighters and their command officers are having meaningful discussions about how the strategies and tactics should be adjusted based on cuts in staffing. I fear that firefighters will continue to fight fires the same way they always have and that is the recipe for a disastrous outcome.
To all my brothers and sisters I ask you that in these challenging times, if your department’s line staffing has been reduced, work smarter and discuss among your colleagues how to adjust your standard operating procedures. Remember that you mean the world to someone… act accordingly and take steps to ensure you safety.
Fire Chief (ret.) Richard B. Gasaway, PhD, EFO, CFO, MICP
www.RichGasaway.com
However, the budgets of many fire departments have been chiseled away over the past ten years and all the while these departments were taking steps to reduce expenses and improve their efficiencies. Stated another way, they have become mean and lean, finding creative ways to provide the most essential services with minimal staffing. There was no more proverbial blood in the turnip. So, when cities looked for the next round of cuts there was nothing left to cut except personnel.
Now we’re being told by the economists and the federal government that the recession is over. So what is to come of fire departments in a post-recession (recovery) period? Will the jobs come back? My prediction is they will not (at least not in the short term). I am not a pessimist and I so much want to see the jobs of my brothers and sisters restored.
In my travels I have kept tuned in to what local leaders have been saying, both publicly and privately. This is what I hear them saying… Fire departments have been over staffed and over funded for years and the recession gave elected and appointed leaders the opportunity (a good excuse) to cut out the “excess” with a good reason to propose reductions (the economy). Some of these elected and appointed officials give me the appearance they are actually smug and gloating in their successful attempts to reduce the size of the fire department.
Some fire department leaders have vocally opposed the reductions. Some leaders have resigned their positions or retired out of protest. Union leaders have stood their ground, but only with marginal success.
So when will the jobs come back? My prediction is the jobs will return very slowly, if at all. I also predict that it will take a crisis to reinstate firefighter (and for that matter police officer jobs). We all know this type of reaction is commonplace. There has to be an incident that results in serious injuries or fatalities. Then, and only then, do the elected and appointed officials begin to take grief from their constituents and the calls for action are heeded.
My concern is this: Firefighters are sworn protectors of humankind. Firefighters are wired for action. And unlike some elected and appointed leaders, firefighters will not play politics with the lives of residents. All of this spells the potential for the crisis previously mentioned to involve the lives of firefighters.
I am hopeful that firefighters and their command officers are having meaningful discussions about how the strategies and tactics should be adjusted based on cuts in staffing. I fear that firefighters will continue to fight fires the same way they always have and that is the recipe for a disastrous outcome.
To all my brothers and sisters I ask you that in these challenging times, if your department’s line staffing has been reduced, work smarter and discuss among your colleagues how to adjust your standard operating procedures. Remember that you mean the world to someone… act accordingly and take steps to ensure you safety.
Fire Chief (ret.) Richard B. Gasaway, PhD, EFO, CFO, MICP
www.RichGasaway.com
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Houston's 10 Rules of Survival
I read where the Houston Fire Department implemented ’10 Rules of Survival’ in the aftermath of multiple line of duty death incidents. I think they are on the right track, so long as these rules become institutionalized and are reinforced in an effort to change their culture.
The one thing that was noticeably absent from the list was the need to conduct a risk-benefit assessment prior to committing firefighters to an interior attack. Part of the risk assessment means evaluating if the fire has began to consume the structural components of the building (e.g., rafters, joints, beams, studs, etc.). It is also essential to assess the speed at which the incident is moving. To accomplish this, the officer/commander must look at the fire’s progress in the context of the passage of time. Under stress, you can lose your perception of the passage of time (temporal distortion is the term for it). Paying attention to the passage of time (even if it is just seconds or a few minutes) and looking at how fast the fire is progressing and how quickly the smoke is building and moving helps you understand the speed of the fire and whether or not your resources (firefighters and water) can get ahead of it. There is a limit as to how fast your firefighters and your water can move and if the fire is moving faster, your firefighters will be overrun but it. It’s a pretty simple concept, but one that is so often overlooked in the size-up phase of the fire.
The second part of the risk-benefit assessment is determining the benefit of engaging firefighters in an interior structural attack. Now, before the comments start flying about wimps and sissies, I will go on the record that I am a proponent of aggressive attack. However, it cannot be blind aggression. It must be a calculated attack – assessing what is to be gained from it. Is there a savable life inside? For those who may not know, skin begins to melt at 160 degrees. Crawling through a super-heated, zero-visibility environment with the objective being “search and rescue” is a misnomer. In this environment, it would be “search and recovery.” Even if you were able to extract the body before death occurred, third degree burns over 80% of the body are not injuries compatible with life and the victim will succumb to their burns.
To engage firefighters in the highest risk environments should be predicated on what benefit comes from that risk – and be realistic.We are firefighters. We are in a risky business. However, we should not be taking excessive risks to save unsavable lives and unsavable property. Nor should we be engaging in firefights when our resources (firefighters and water) are outmatched by the volume and speed of the fire.
Fire Chief (ret.) Richard B. Gasaway, PhD, EFO, CFO, MICP
www.RichGasaway.com
RBG3100@aol.com
[Note: This was also posted on the Kitchen Table blog.]
The one thing that was noticeably absent from the list was the need to conduct a risk-benefit assessment prior to committing firefighters to an interior attack. Part of the risk assessment means evaluating if the fire has began to consume the structural components of the building (e.g., rafters, joints, beams, studs, etc.). It is also essential to assess the speed at which the incident is moving. To accomplish this, the officer/commander must look at the fire’s progress in the context of the passage of time. Under stress, you can lose your perception of the passage of time (temporal distortion is the term for it). Paying attention to the passage of time (even if it is just seconds or a few minutes) and looking at how fast the fire is progressing and how quickly the smoke is building and moving helps you understand the speed of the fire and whether or not your resources (firefighters and water) can get ahead of it. There is a limit as to how fast your firefighters and your water can move and if the fire is moving faster, your firefighters will be overrun but it. It’s a pretty simple concept, but one that is so often overlooked in the size-up phase of the fire.
The second part of the risk-benefit assessment is determining the benefit of engaging firefighters in an interior structural attack. Now, before the comments start flying about wimps and sissies, I will go on the record that I am a proponent of aggressive attack. However, it cannot be blind aggression. It must be a calculated attack – assessing what is to be gained from it. Is there a savable life inside? For those who may not know, skin begins to melt at 160 degrees. Crawling through a super-heated, zero-visibility environment with the objective being “search and rescue” is a misnomer. In this environment, it would be “search and recovery.” Even if you were able to extract the body before death occurred, third degree burns over 80% of the body are not injuries compatible with life and the victim will succumb to their burns.
To engage firefighters in the highest risk environments should be predicated on what benefit comes from that risk – and be realistic.We are firefighters. We are in a risky business. However, we should not be taking excessive risks to save unsavable lives and unsavable property. Nor should we be engaging in firefights when our resources (firefighters and water) are outmatched by the volume and speed of the fire.
Fire Chief (ret.) Richard B. Gasaway, PhD, EFO, CFO, MICP
www.RichGasaway.com
RBG3100@aol.com
[Note: This was also posted on the Kitchen Table blog.]
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