SAM 010 | Interview with Jack Sullivan - Responder Safety Institute

On this episode I interview Jack Sullivan, Director of Training for the Responder Safety Institute. The mission of the Institute is to reduce highway incidents involving first responders and to minimize the impact of responders who are involved in these incidents.   Our discussion was recorded at the National Volunteer Fire Council Summit in Myrtle Beach where Jack was presenting on highway incident safety and I was presenting program on Thirty deadly situational awareness barriers.   Thank you to the fifty-plus people who attended my session and for sharing your wonderful feedback. The one seasoned veteran who noted: “I realized I don’t know what I thought I knew” is a common response to this program. Rest easy, my friend. I am trying very hard to change that… through the articles on the website, the on-line academy, the books, the videos, the live programs and of course, through this radio show. Stick with me and we’ll change that for you.   During this interview, Jack shares:   1.How a seemingly routine incident caused Jack to lose a friend and how this wake up call inspired him to get involved in educating responders on roadway incidents.   2.How the Institute uses case studies, dash cam videos, and department of transportation videos to build awareness of roadway incidents.   3.The challenges of tracking roadway near-miss and injury incidents.   4.How the motoring public today lack respect for authority and first responders and how they may suffer from what Jack refers to as the four Ds: Drowsy, Distracted, Drugged and/or Dumb. I guess we could through Disrespectful in there and make it five Ds.   5.How a me-first attitude, texting, talking on phones and GPS are creating huge problems. Sadly, some firefighters are among the D-drives when operating their personal vehicles.   6.Why it is so important to build relations and rapport with other public safety agencies in advance of responding to roadway incidents to avoid incident scene conflicts – including the involvement of partner agencies in the development of joint roadway incident response standard operating guidelines.   7.The upcoming National Traffic Incident Management and Responder Safety Training Program train-the-trainer gathering where over 260 responders are converging on the campus of the National Fire Academy to develop cross-agency collaboration.   8.How you can access the responder safety learning network where you can register and obtain free training on roadway safety.   INFORMATION   If you are interested in attending a live event, you can check out the Situational Awareness Matters Tour Stop schedule at: SAMatters.com. Click on the Program and Keynotes tab just below the header. Then click on the Events Schedule tab. If I am in your area, I hope you will consider attending a live event.   If you are not able to attend a live event, consider signing up for the SAMatters On-Line Academy. The Academy contains videos and articles that cover the same content as a three-day live tour event, delivered in 14 modules you can go through at your own pace, from your own computer.   If you sign-up for the Academy Plus version you will also receive four situational awareness books that are cross-referenced throughout the Academy. The Plus version is a great bargain because the tuition simply covers the cost of the books… making the Academy free!   Just click on the link below the header on the SAMatters home page titled On-Line Academy.   CLOSING   Thank you Jack Sullivan from the Responder Safety Institute for taking some time to sit down with me to discuss your passion for roadway safety. I will put a link to the Institute’s website in the show notes.   I'd like to share some feedback I have received on the radio show and thank you for searching the show on iTunes, subscribing and leaving your feedback and five-star review. This will definitely help others find the show.   This feedback comes from Firefighter505   You must take time to listen to Dr. (Chief) Gasaway’s podasts! More life saving information for us! Thanks iTunes for carrying a podcast that will change Firefighters lives, and ultimately save many more lives!   And this feedback was shared by Alex Hickey of the North Kitsap Fire and Rescue     This is a great style of podcast done right. The doctor has a great presentation style and there are many ‘takeaways’ from each episode. My favorite part is the portion of each episode when he reviews a near-miss/close call. Too often, these types of incidents are ignored by training FFs who choose to focus only on LODDs (which are by no means a bad thing to focus on, but we can also learn from our near misses!!!). What are you waiting for, listen now and subscribe!   Well, that is it. Episode 10 is complete. Thank you for sharing some of your valuable time with me today. I sincerely appreciate your support of the SAMatters mission.   If you like the show, please go to iTunes, and search for SAMatters Radio and subscribe to the podcast and leaving your feedback and a 5-star review. This will help others find the show.   You can also sign up for the FREE SAMatters monthly newsletter by visiting SAMatters.com and clicking the red box on the right side of the home page.   Be safe out there. May the peace of the Lord, and strong situational awareness, be with you always.   ** Post Closing Message   You have been listening to the Situational Awareness Matters Radio show with Dr. Richard B. Gasaway. If you are interested in learning more about situational awareness, human factors and decision making under stress, visit SAMatters.com. If you are interested in booking Dr. Gasaway for an upcoming event, visit his personal website at RichGasaway.com   ResponderSafety.com Jack Sullivan, Director of Training [email protected]   Situational Awareness Matters! website www.SAMatters.com   On-Line Academy http://www.samatters.com/situational-awareness-matters-academy/   Upcoming Events Schedule http://www.samatters.com/programs-keynote/eventschedule/   Books and Videos (Store) http://www.samatters.com/store/   Firefighter Near Miss Reporting System http://www.firefighternearmiss.com/   Close Call Survivor Website www.CloseCallSurvivor.com   Contact Rich Gasaway www.RichGasaway.com [email protected] 612-548-4424