SAM 012 | Interview with Fire Chief Alan Predmore - Buckley (WA) Fire Department

Hello and welcome to episode 12 of the Situational Awareness Matters radio show. I am your host, Rich Gasaway.   The purpose of this show is to improve situational awareness and decision making for individuals and teams who work in high risk, high consequence environments.   The SAMatters mission is simple… To help you see the bad things coming… in time to avoid bad outcomes.   On this episode I had the pleasure of interviewing Alan Predmore, the fire chief in Buckley, Washington. I have had the opportunity to deliver multiple programs for the Buckley Fire Department over the past five years and this past February Chief Predmore invited me out to talk with the students in their recruit academy about situational awareness.   During that discussion, it was noted that a recruit with strong situational awareness may see something that has been overlooked by their officer or the incident commander and, when this occurs, the recruit may not, for a variety of reasons, speak up.   I shared with the class how this was a problem in aviation and how flight crew members were taught, using crew resource management techniques, to speak up when there is a concern. I suggested that fire  departments might benefit from having a code word (or phrase) that, once uttered, would alert the recipient of the message there is a safety concern.   Chief Predmore was in the room during my discussion with the recruits and this message got his wheels turning and got him wondering what he could do to alleviate any concerns a recruit firefighter – or any firefighter for that matter – would have about speaking up in the presence of a concern. From that the phrase – The pigs are eating lemons – was created. Let’s listen in as Chief Predmore tells us how this unusual phrase came about and how it’s already been used once with exceptional results.   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 to Buckley Fire Chief Alan Predmore for sharing the importance of knowing when the pigs are eating lemons.   Well, that is it. Episode 12 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   Show Sponsor Branding Iron Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations brandingiron.com 423-202-3252 Interview Guest Alan Predmore, Fire Chief Buckley Fire Department http://www.cityofbuckley.com   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