Firefighters bring their own experiences and beliefs to everything they encounter on social media. Confirmation bias, selective exposure, and algorithmic personalization can reinforce those beliefs until repeated exposure begins to feel like evidence and a personalized feed can look like a reflection of the fire service as a whole.
Tag Archives: Bill Carey
Availability Heuristic, Social Media and Firefighter Perception of Risk
Social media does not necessarily create false information—it can create a distorted sample of real information. Repeated exposure to LODDs, maydays, close calls, and dramatic fireground images can make rare events feel common, reinforcing the availability heuristic.
AI, Reading Comprehension, and Critical Thinking Challenge
What does this exercise suggest about relying on AI summaries instead of reading original source documents?
2026 Interior Mid-Year Report
Data Not Drama reports interior traumatic LODDs to help the fire service better interpret and understand firefighter fatality data.
