This must have resource examines the challenges of providing volunteer fire protection in modern day America. Readers are guided through a process of self-assessment and planning using case studies and activity worksheets. Skills and strategies are developed, yielding practical assistance to those charged with leading a volunteer fire department.
A must have for every combination fire department leader! Leading a combination fire department is one of the greatest challenges a fire chief can face. To successfully lead this type of organization, fire chiefs must recognize the unique difficulties inherent in combination systems, and overcome them by applying lessons learned from other chiefs who have faced similar challenges. Authored by a team of seasoned fire service leaders, and modeled after the Chief Fire Officer's Desk Reference, A Leadership Guide for Combination Fire Departments is a compilation of the best practices and lessons learned through experience. It is designed to provide chief- and officer-level personnel with the tools necessary to lead today's combination service department.
This book was created to assist those people who have been placed in positions of leadership in a volunteer fire department. This book will help them to understand what a fire department is, what leadership consists of and how they must act. It also covers such things as, training, mentoring, and coaching, as well as what ethical behavior is.
The Fire Chief’s Handbook, 7th Edition continues Fire Engineering’s 82-year tradition of publishing the definitive resource for advanced fire service training. The text has been completely updated to meet the changing environment and added responsibilities of the fire service. Returning authors have rewritten their chapter to address today’s leadership and administrative concerns, while new authors are also introduced to offer new perspectives. This comprehensive guidebook is designed for firefighters, company officers, and chief officers of all ranks and department types who want the latest information on the fundamentals of leadership in the fire service, as well as managing the day-to-day operations of a fire department.
The contents of this paper contain realistic goals to assist Executive Fire Officers develop a program to guide the selection of volunteer leaders. In the volunteer fire service, leaders are selected in various ways, including popularity votes with no regard to qualifications. This situation can result in a non-trained, nonskilled, unqualified yet "popular" individual managing a complex array of situations in a department. This paper is directed toward communities with volunteer Fire-Rescue leadership. The objective is to provide specific ideas in the development of a policy that can still allow the selection of the "popular" individual. However, it will be from a group of trained, skilled and qualified candidates.
If you’ve ever wanted to mentor others, but aren’t sure how or where to start, and who to start with, Firehouse Mentor makes it easy. This valuable guide written by two veteran firefighters offers immense rewards on its simple and fun journey toward mentoring. The book addresses negative and destructive behaviors and how to change them. Each topic guides the mentor, laying out the behavior to be addressed while providing multiple solutions, as well as a follow-through section monitoring the results. The book is designed to maintain the span-of-control with one mentor and up to five mentees. “Developing, growing, and strengthening the next generation of firefighters is what mentoring is all about and it’s a much-needed commodity in today’s fire service. I highly recommend this book for any progressive department wanting to set the stage for the next generation and prepare them for success.” – Fire Chief Les Karpluk, ECFO, author of Purpose Filled Leadership and co-author of Leadership Prescribed and Leadership Prescribed 2.0 “Acquiring some understanding of why we do things is often a prerequisite to change. This is especially true when talking about repetitive patterns of behavior that do not serve us well.” – Nick Brunacini, author of B Shifter and Staring into the Sun, retired firefighter, Blue Card instructor
"The Fire Officer's Guide to Management and Leadership: A Scenario-Based Approach will help develop critical decision-making skills. The fire service has emphasized the importance of emergency response size-up. The majority of situations for which an officer is solely responsible are in the station, relying on on-the-job training for guidance"--
From Book's Introduction: Firefighting continues to be one of the nation's most dangerous and hazardous jobs with heart attacks, high physical stress levels, and sprains and strains all too common. In the past five years, the fire service has focused its attention on overcoming these issues by working to change the service's culture. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has spent much time redeveloping and revamping their health and wellness standards, while career departments have been working with the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) and International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) on a wellness initiative that began in 1997. Volunteer personnel also face similar risks when it comes to health and wellness. The nature of member time constraints and tight departmental budgets in the volunteer service often inhibits the creation of comprehensive health and wellness programs. Implementing a comprehensive health and wellness program could overwhelm the resources of many volunteer departments. Time, lack of program leadership, and insufficient funding pose serious challenges to most departments, which often struggle to deliver basic fire suppression capabilities. This guide provides the rationale and suggestions for successfully implementing a health and wellness program volunteer service. It also addresses many common roadblocks.
