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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...

The journey to becoming a great firefighter and having a healthy life begins with motivation.

The fire service is facing an epidemic: more than half of all firefighter line of duty deaths are due to heart attack or stroke (usfa.fema.gov). Many of us have heard this statistic before, yet most of us believe: “It won’t happen at my department, and definitely not to me.”...

We have all heard stories about firefighters that have struggled early on in their career.  Some of these firefighters overcame their struggles to have successful and fulfilling careers. Others saw their careers extinguished faster than a vehicle fire. Regardless of the outcome,...

One of our most important pieces of personal protective equipment is our self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). It enables us to breath in an environment where we would not be able to otherwise, it alerts others when we may be in trouble and if worn properly and consistently...

You don’t need to work out for hours at a time to dramatically improve your health. In fact, short bouts of exercise can be more effective at improving your aerobic fitness than longer workouts, as long as they’re done right. Having good aerobic fitness is extremely important for...

In the past, firefighter rehabilitation at an emergency incident was recommended.  With the creation of NFPA 1584: Standard on the Rehabilitation for Members During Emergency Operations and Training Exercises, firefighter rehabilitation became a standard of care. From a health...

Do you think that to dramatically change your health you will need a complete lifestyle overhaul?   Well, that’s wrong. Although well-meaning “health nuts” may tell you that you must work out for hours at a time, the actual science shows that just 10 minutes of...

R.I.C., R.I.T., F.A.S.T.—Call it what you want, this is the team of firefighters on the fire ground who are immediately available to rescue an incapacitated firefighter.  For the purpose of this article, we will refer to this team as “R.I.C.” Like everything else in the...