Critical Decision-Making Under Stress

Credit Hours:  1
Approximate reading time: 0.5 Hours
Approximate online time: 1 Hour

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Program Abstract

This module explores how fire service personnel can make better, more effective decisions during the stress of fire, explosion, and rescue responses. Many factors influence decision-making, including patterns learned during training and previous responses, biological responses to stress, others’ opinions, situational awareness, available information, the impact of trauma, instinct, assumptions, and biases. A misjudged decision, failure to accurately interpret information, or lack of information are contributing factors in a significant number of instances where human error contributed to an unfavorable outcome. If we can reduce these human errors in the decision-making process, we can reduce firefighter deaths and injuries. We can better prepare firefighters to make decisions in life-threatening situations if we understand human behavior under stress and apply proven techniques to guide the decision-making process. This module offers a blueprint for revolutionizing decision making in the fire service by adopting a new risk assessment mindset and decision-making process.

The Fire Hero Learning Network gratefully acknowledges Dr. Sabrina Cohen-Hatton’s research at Cardiff University on decision-making in the fire and rescue service as the foundation of this module and thanks her for sharing her knowledge, insight, and decision controls process as a member of the subject matter expert group that developed this module.

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The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation provides FireHeroLearningNetwork.Com to further the organization's mission and the goals of the Everyone Goes Home® program by providing free, vetted training and resources to all members of the fire service. Fire Hero Learning Network delivers critical safety, operations, and community relations fire service training, from the line firefighter through to command and leadership. Unless otherwise noted, the modules on FireHeroLearningNetwork.Com are appropriate for all levels of the fire service, all staffing characteristics (career, volunteer, and combination), all jurisdictions in the United States, and all types of firefighting (including public, private, structure, vehicle, wildland, military, transportation authority, State Fire Marshal, special squad, and academia). Available interactive training resources include: modules, operational checklists, fire attack scenarios, and podcasts.