Ray Downey wrote the first edition of The Rescue Company in the early 1990s. Building on Downey's legacy, John Norman has written Fire Department Special Operations to take into consideration the earth-shattering events, funding increases, research advances, expanded capabilities, and changes in regulations and standards that have widened the knowledge gap since the publication of Chief Downey's book. Fire Department Special Operations is an excellent guide for agencies and individuals in establishing, staffing, operating, and maintaining heavy rescue units in the many forms they may take. It is also an ideal training resource for the officers and individuals assigned the duties that a rescue firefighter must accomplish.
The third edition of Fire Department Incident Safety Officer has been thoroughly updated to cover the latest trends, information, and best-practices needed by current and aspiring Incident Safety Officers (ISO’s). Developed in partnership with the Fire Department Safety Officer’s Association and based on the 2015 Edition of NFPA 1521, Standard for Fire Department Safety Officer Professional Qualifications, this authoritative resource focuses uniquely on the roles, responsibilities, and duties for fire service officers assigned to the incident command staff position of safety officer. From smoke reading to alternative energy sources to green construction buildings, Fire Department Incident Safety Officer, Third Edition is loaded with up-to-date information needed to keep fire department members safe, including: A new chapter dedicated to the Incident Safety Officer at Training Drills and Special Events Entire chapters devoted to important topics like reading smoke, reading buildings,
Scott Thompson, author of The Functional Fire Company, says the functional fire company concept was not created but realized: “I realized, after many attempts at trying to view success in the organization from the top down, that it wasn’t possible. Real indicators of success in the fire service come from the bottom up. A fire department’s success is best judged at the company level.” “Many leaders and senior members have been taught the how but not the why, and they don’t understand the reasons for doing what they do,” Thompson says. “Because firefighting is such a technical activity, we must ensure that we are explaining why we do things while we demonstrate the how. It is essential that we develop critical thinking for solving fire suppression, rescue, and EMS problems.” WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING: “Chief Scott Thompson combines his decades of experience and years of observation with today’s leadership skills and provides a path for the successful fire department to follow. The Functional Fire Company will take you step by step from being an ordinary fire department to one which defines excellence. --Rick Lasky, Fire Chief (ret.) Texas “I found both motivation and a guide to implementation in this book. Chief Thompson has provided a deep resource for all ranks from creating culture to setting up training structure. I highly recommend this book to anyone with aspirations of making an organizational impact.” --Brian Brush “Chief Thompson has spent his entire career focusing on training and organizational effectiveness. The Functional Fire Company is his life’s work wrapped up into a playbook which offers insight into how to make your organization perform at maximum proficiency. Experience, perspective and a never quit mentality are evident as Chief Thompson provides a unique view to solving problems in the modern-day fire service.” --Terry McGrath, Assistant Chief, Lewisville (TX) Fire Department “This book offers a living, breathing example that Chief Thompson’s principles truly work. I hope you get as much value from this book as we have received from Chief Thompson’s lessons, and that you take what you learn back to your organization.” --Garrett Rice, The Colony Fire Department (TX) Battalion Chief, A Shift
From the author: This 3rd edition is about organized common sense in the fire service. Section One provides support to fire departments that already have a strategic plan and just need to update and revise their existing plan. I have found over my 30 years of consulting with fire department’s that they want to accomplish their next iteration of their strategic plan as rapidly as possible. Section Two provides a detailed “How-to” guide to help a fire department create its first strategic plan. Section Two is divided into four parts: (1) Understanding the Department, (2) Understanding the Situation, (3) Understanding the Strategic Issues Facing the Department, and (4) Creating Organizational Change. A new chapter (Chapter 20) provides assistance to those departments having challenges with their strategic plan and obtaining the desired outcomes/results. It adds a new troubleshooting process for those departments having challenges to create an effective and successful strategic plan. The book is designed to be effective as a manual to develop an individual fire department’s strategic plan as well as a textbook for use in upper division college/university courses or as a text for post-graduate courses.
Writing in a humorous conversational style, Chief Alan Brunacini explains the application of common-sense customer service concepts to the fire service. Essentials of Fire Department Customer Service is basic reading for every firefighter, officer, and administrator.
Authors Mark van der Feyst, Eric Wissner and James Petruzzi wrote their new book to serve as a much-needed sole source reference for rescuing an occupant from a residential structure. Residential Fire Rescue covers the theory of search and rescue, practical application of search and rescue, and company training. The book includes sample lesson plans that can be customized for various skills (including VES, drags and removals); step-by-step instructions combined with photos to show the various rescue techniques and positions; and, a DVD to aid the instruction of techniques. Company officers, training officers, and firefighters will find Residential Fire Rescue an important resource.
The third edition of Legal Considerations for Fire & Emergency Services is a reader-friendly guide to the challenging legal issues that firefighters and emergency service personnel encounter. Written by J. Curtis Varone, a practicing attorney as well as an experienced firefighter, this book explores such key topics as fire department liability, search and seizure, sovereign immunity, overtime laws, collective bargaining, OSHA compliance, workers’ compensation, physical abilities testing, medical examinations, drug testing, discrimination, and sexual harassment. It is a perfect textbook for any course on fire service law as well as an indispensable desk reference for day-to-day fire department administration. Features of the new 3rd Edition: • Updated cases on several topics including residency requirements, employment discrimination, and more • Expanded treatment of hot topics such as digital imagery, social media, and electronic surveillance • Meets the latest requirements for FESHE’s Legal Aspects of the Fire Service curriculum • Many new photos and graphics to help connect cases to day-to-day issues in the fire service • Coverage of recent changes to search and seizure law, use of digital photos and social media by emergency personnel, and fire department liability
The expert instructors at the Seattle Fire Department offer a comprehensive explanation of how to develop and implement an effective air management program for departments of any size. This handbook includes examples from international departments, the newest technology breakthroughs, and more.
Tracing its roots to 1796, the Bridgeport Fire Department protects Connecticut's largest city. Bridgeport's first step toward independence occured when the Corporation of Newfield was formed in 1797 for the express purpose of forming a fire company. Through the years, the firefighters have continued to play a significant role in Bridgeport's history. Bridgeport's fire department has grown, changed, and shared in its city's triumphs, and tragedies. The purchase of the steam-powered D.H. Sterling fire engine triggered an oftentimes bitter contest between adherents of the traditional muscle-powered fire engine and new mechanical machines. The contest resulted in the formation of the present career fire department in 1872. Bridgeport Firefighters traces the innovations, incidents, and personalities through the hand-drawn, horse-drawn, and motor-driven eras up to the twentieth century.
One of the first women in the San Francisco Fire Department writes about what it's like to be a firefighter--the daily routine in the firehouse; the danger and thrills of risking her life fighting this elemental force--and tells readers what life is like for a woman in what has traditionally been a man's world.
