Annual Refresher

1. National Emphasis Topic Annual Refresher Communication, Human Factors, and Lessons Learned A follow up to “If you see something, say something” Prepared by Ed Dunbar, Benton County Fire District 4

2. Overview • Prior year emphasis – “If you see something, say something” • This year – next logical step is “What is it that we are looking for you to say something about? • Past experiences, events and conditions that have lead to trouble for firefighters

3. Objectives • Communications • Review Human factors barriers to communicating hazards • Review Additional ways to communicate and learn about hazards • Review Communications Responsibilities • Explore additional resources for reporting and reviewing lessons learned

4. Good Communications • Integral part of successful operations • Central aspect of Fireline Leadership training • Reflected in 10 & 18, LCES • Millions of dollars spent on equipment to communicate

5. Good Communications • Despite this heavy emphasis, every year injuries or fatalities occur from hazards/threats seen by other firefighters but not communicated to those injured/killed • Why does this happen? • Can we change to accept the responsibility to communicate the threat? – We must!!

6. Communication Barriers • Common pitfalls • Others are seeing the hazard/threat, so everyone must already be aware of it • Not everyone may have seen hazard or threat due to terrain, smoke, other events or just not correctly identified the hazard/threat

7. Communication Barriers • Common pitfalls • Others with more experience see the hazard/threat and don’t appear to be concerned • Assume that those with more experience are aware • Assume that you are being over cautious due to lack of experience • Better to err on the side of safety to ensure threat is recognized by all • Embarrassment is rarely, if at all, fatal

8. Communication Barriers • Common pitfalls • I don’t want to insult intelligence of fellow firefighters by pointing out what should be obvious • Again, err on the side of safety • Ensure communication is made so all are aware • If others are made aware, they may be appreciative to a potential oversight on their part

9. Communication Barriers • Common pitfalls • It isn’t any of my business if observed threat is to someone outside of my crew or area of responsibility • Situational awareness dictates relying on others to provide information about the fire not seen • Operational boundaries should make no difference when communicating threats

10. Communication Responsibilities • All firefighters have five communication responsibilities: • Brief others as needed • Debrief your actions • Communicate hazards to others • Acknowledge messages • Ask if you don’t know

11. Leader’s Intent • All leaders of firefighters have the responsibility to provide complete briefings and ensure that their subordinates have a clear understanding of their intentfor the assignment: • Task = What is to be done • Purpose = Why it is to be done • End State = How it should look when done

12. Human Factors Barrier to Situation Awareness and Decision Making • Low experience level with local factors • Unfamiliar with the area or the organizational structure • Distraction from Primary Duty • Radio Traffic • Conflict • Previous Errors • Collateral duties • Incident within an incident

13. Human Factors Barrier to Situation Awareness and Decision Making • Fatigue • Carbon monoxide • Dehydration • Heat stress and poor fitness level can reduce resistance to fatigue • 24-hours awake affects your decision-making capability like 0.10 blood alcohol content

14. Human Factors Barrier to Situation Awareness and Decision Making • Stress Reactions • Communication deteriorate or grows tense • Habitual or repetitive behaviors • Target fixation – locking into a course of action, whether it makes sense or not, just try harder • Action tunneling – focusing on small tasks but ignoring the big picture • Escalation of commitment – accepting increased risk as completion of task gets near

15. Human Factors Barrier to Situation Awareness and Decision Making • Hazardous Attitudes • Invulnerable – That can’t happen to us • Anti-authority – Disregard of the team effort • Impulsive – Do something even if it’s wrong • Macho – Trying to impress or prove something • Complacent – Just another routine fire • Resigned – We can’t make a difference • Group Think – Afraid to speak up or disagree

16. Additional ways to communicate and learn about hazards • Underutilized tools • Safenet – http://safenet.nifc.gov/ • SAFECOM – https://www.safecom.gov • Clickable Links • Safenet • SAFECOM

17. Additional ways to communicate and learn about hazards • Safenet & SAFECOM • Powerful methods of communicating hazards and safety concerns • Not intended to replace immediate corrective actions • Easy to use • Available to all fire and aviation personnel • “Search” function useful for finding information

20. Additional Resources • “This Day in History” – part of the 6 Minutes for Safety topics • “Learning from Incidents” library – videos that highlight personal stories from wildland incidents • Staff Ride Library – virtual site visit and incident simulation based on past incidents

21. After Action Review • The climate surrounding an AAR must be one in which the participants openly and honestly discuss what transpired, in sufficient detail and clarity, so everyone understands what did and did not occur and why. • Most importantly, participants should leave with a strong desire to improve their proficiency.

22. After Action Review • Where Lessons Learned come out • Perform as immediately after the event as possible • Reinforce that respectful disagreement is OK. • Keep focused on the what, not the who • Participation by all • End on a positive note

23. After Action Review • What was planned? • What actually happened? • Effective/non-effective performance • Why did it happen? • Again – what, not who • What can we do next time? • Correct weaknesses/sustain strengths