Role of Memory and Situational Awareness in Firefighters Job

Question: Write about theRole of Memory and Situational Awareness in Firefighters Job. Answer: Success in the firefighters mission is determined by the decisions taken once they arrive at the scene of the accident if all other factors are constant. As such, their expertise and awareness of the particular incidence based on prior experience plays an important role in enhancing the efficiency of the job they conduct. Consequently, it is wise for the commander to include experienced workers in every mission because assigning only new recruits to a rescue may cause failure. In unpredictable situations, the decisions are made after a series of considerations in order to decide the most efficient means of execution (Templer Choo, 2017). Complex careers require ample training, not just in theory but also the practical aspect where the tangible expertise is gained (van den Bosch, Harbers Heuvelink, 2009). They insist that as much as a person may be exposed to all possible levels of class training, without the field experience they cannot be expected to translate it into the action. As such, it is only in the field where once they have experienced a situation, the second time the same is encountered it is much easier to handle. For instance, where building plans have only been seen on paper, interpreting the same in the actual venue might be difficult. On the contrary, an individual who first handled the situation in the field might be more informed even when they are not familiar with the same details in writing. However, this is not to mean either theory or the field-work is less important but rather both fields should complement each other for the overall results. Dijkstra, Plight, and Kleef (2013) claim that experts are able to make informed decisions as compared to their less knowledgeable counterparts due to the various situations they have assessed in the past. Additionally, they are able to predict exactly what a particular option might lead to hence are able to support their choices with reasons. On the contrary, a beginner in a similar case would be guessing or following their intuition as to which strategy would most likely yield the best results (Dijkstra, Plight Kleef 2013). Based on the argument that they have no particular explanation as to why they prefer the course of action they recommend, there is the likelihood that it might be informed by emotions and may be fatal in this sensitive field. They also insist that on vital matters such as firefighting, the instinct about the best course of action with a greater probability of success develops and get polished with time and practice. Templer and Choo (2017) claimed that memory is essential in triggering a response from an individual such that if an occurrence is familiar, the response is triggered immediately. Consequently, humans perceive the activities they have previously engaged in as easy while those they lack experience in is automatically considered difficult despite the fact on the ground which might be contrary. As such, the strange situations take time to figure out and subsequently formulate a strategy to solve them. In addition, Templer and Choo (2017) insist that similar occurrences are grouped together by the human mind. Therefore, when firefighters come across an accident or a building similar to another one they have attended to previously, the time that is taken to put a fire out and save people will be relatively shorter than when they were unaware of the venue design and plan. The brain is responsible for storing memory, where individuals keep the knowledge and data they have experienced on specific issues (Templer Choo 2017). From the stored information, a person is able to make use of the necessary resources based on what they are practicing. Hence, if the workers in the fire department were not able to remember procedures and specific events, in relation to their work, their careers would be in-existent. Regardless of having engaged in an activity for a long time, if one is unable to figure out what the practice entails make them similar to civilians who have never been part of the program hence cannot be given the responsibility of the sensitive docket. The brain is the essential part that is responsible for analyzing the situation at hand based on previous experience as well as coming up with several methods that can be practically used to fix the problem. Klein and Clinton-Cirocco (2010) insist that an essential aspects of fire brigade mission is to be essentially aware of the specific situation it in the venue of the incident. It may involve determining issues such as the specific points to put the hoses on a building or analyze the possible areas of expansion of fire and stop the spread (Klein Clinton-Cirocco). In addition, they indicated that situational awareness should be carried out in the shortest time possible hence the need for the experts in the mission since they are able to understand these situations faster from experience. Also, the workers are able to take care of their safety by strategic positioning as they carry out their duty to avoid getting caught in the flames. Li et al (2014) claimed that fire break-out require the individuals present in the building to be essentially aware of the site such that they are able to escape before the fire gets out of control. As such, they ought to be aware of the emergency exits, as well as mechanisms of using the equipment within the premises that can slow down the speed of spread. The firefighters should be able to quickly assess the intensity and the rate at which the fire is growing so that they are able to reduce the same. Therefore, for the developers to keep their buildings fire-secure, they ought to place measures to detect accidents. Consequently, the fire brigades should be aware of the specific equipment such as cameras that they can view after arrival at the scene to determine where the fire started and analyze its trend. Investing in security awareness training for the general public would enhance their situational awareness to help the professionals assist them. References Dijkstra, K. A., Plight, J., Kleef, G. A. (2013). Deliberation versus intuition: Decomposing the role of expertise in judgment and decision making. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 26(3), 285-294. Klein, G., Calderwood, R., Clinton-Cirocco, A. (2010). Rapid decision making on the fire ground: The original study plus a postscript. Journal of Cognitive Engineering and Decision Making, 4(3), 186-209. Li, N., Yang, Z., Ghahramani, A., Becerik-Geber, B., Soibelman, L. (2014). Situational awareness for supporting building fire emergency response: Information needs, information sources and implementation requirements. Fire safety journal, 63, 17-28. Templer, K., Choo, M. (2017). Psy 357 human factors psychology (v2.1 ed.). Singapore, Singapore: Singapore university of social sciences. Van den Bosch, K., Harbers, M., Heuvelink, A., Van Doesburg, W. (2009). Intelligent agents for training on-board firefighting. Digital Human Modelling, 463-472