Situational Awareness

Situational awareness is the ability to be aware of what is happening around you and understand how those events relate to your situation. It involves perceiving, understanding, and effectively responding to your environment. This includes gathering, analyzing, and using information to make informed decisions, especially when faced with potential risks or threats.

Key Components of Situational Awareness:

Observation: Actively monitoring your surroundings and paying attention to changes.
Orientation: Understanding the context of your observations and how they relate to you and your goals.
Decision: Evaluating the situation and making informed choices about how to respond.
Action: Taking steps to address the situation, protect yourself, and achieve your objectives.

Why Situational Awareness is Important:

Safety: Recognizing potential threats and acting accordingly.
Decision Making: Making informed choices based on a clear understanding of the situation.
Performance: Optimizing your actions and achieving your goals more effectively.
Emergency Response: Quickly assessing and responding to emergencies

Situational Awareness Challenge - Click Play

10-ARES® WATCHOUT SITUATIONS, 11-COMM ORDERS & LCES

PCARES Standards for Communication

10 ARES® WATCHOUT SITUATIONS

1. No communication with other radio operators.

2. Instructions and assignments are not clear.

3. Safety hazards are not clearly identified.

4. Radio equipment not checked before mission.

5. Not working in accordance with work instructions and relevant work procedures.

6. Not ensuring equipment is properly grounded.

7.Uninformed on strategies, tactics and hazards.

8. Unfamiliar with weather and local factors.

9. Safety zones and escape route not identified.

10. Address mission goals aggressively, having provided for safety first.

11 STANDARD ARES® COMMS ORDERS

1.Communicate using plain language.

2.Observe all policy and procedures.

3.Maintain a professional attitude at all time.

4.Maintain situational awareness at all times.

5. Safety is the the first operational thought.

6. Obtain current status on mission.

7. Remain in communication with other operators, your supervisor and served agency.

8. Determine safety zones and escape routes.

9. Ensure mission objectives are given and understood.

10. Retain control at all times.

11. Stay alert, keep calm, think clearly, act decisively.

LCES

Lookouts-experienced, competent, maps, IAP, weather kit, good vantage point, watch

Communications-frequencies updated, confirmed, and shared, backup plan with check in times

Escape Routes-preplanned and understood route rescuers take to move to a safety zone

Safety Zone- Manmade or Natural Areas consistent with protecting personnel and equipment from Natural elements, man made threats. Up Hill, Up Wind, Up Stream from chemical hazards? Collapse Hazards = Distance /Shielding, Weather Hazards – Prone to flooding, wind, temperature extremes?

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