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To be an effective listener as an officer, we must be able to mentally process multiple requests, opinions and thoughts at the same time and come up with a firm solution or answer. Sure, we are all used to this on the fireground; but the role of an officer expands to much more...

“Treat others as you would like to be treated.” Most of us have heard of the above saying. It holds very true with the leadership skills of an officer. For as long as we have been able to process social skills, we’ve been building our personalities, our consciousness and...

In part 1, we discussed several items that you should consider when evaluating candidates for the role of fire department public information officer (PIO). As you saw it isn’t easy. Let’s examine a few more considerations to help you round out a good evaluation process. The...

The role of a public information officer (PIO) within your organization must be highly considered within this new age of social media. As the demand for current information rapidly evolves so must you and your organization to these demands. The only way to keep ahead of this and...

Have you ever thought of what your department’s social media IQ is? How would your department measure theirs? What does this mean to you as a firefighter? Is it important? Actually it means a lot and you need to know why. As the fire service evolves  daily the more it...

As the driver/EVD/FADO/engineer (here we will call it a driver/operator for simplicity) of a truck, tower, or quint we are responsible for the safe operation of this multi-ton vehicle to and from, and on the incident scene. Regardless of the make and style of your specific...

In previous articles written by Andy Starnes we learned about the fundamentals behind standpipe and sprinkler operations. Today I would like to continue in the same direction and examine what we should consider carrying in our standpipe bag. The standpipe bag, aka the high rise...

When we first joined the fire service we were outfitted with all the personnel protective gear we would need to help keep us the safest possible during an incident. This probably included boots, turnout pants, turnout coat, hood, gloves (structural and maybe extrication), a...

From all of us at Firefightertoolbox, to all of you, we wish you and yours a happy and safe new year! Continue to train, focus on the job at hand, work hard, and put every ounce of energy into what you do to become a better firefighter. – The Firefightertoolbox Team

Today we focus on the top 5 firefighter thoughts as covered every Sunday on FirefighterToolbox. Take the time to re-read these and think about what they mean to you as a firefighter. Consider how these messages can inspire you through your work. Hopefully these messages have...