Firefighter Success

Firefighter Success is the blueprint for firefighters who want to achieve excellence in their careers and personal lives. Its 20 core principles provide every firefighter with a complete road map to fire service success. Going beyond the conventional definition of success (i.e. promotions, rank, money), Firefighter Success will teach firefighters how to continuously improve, maximize and achieve their potential, and leave a positive, lasting impact on the fire service.FIREFIGHTER SUCCESS' 20 CORE PRINCIPLES: CHAPTER 1 - COACHABLE CHAPTER 2 - CURIOUS CHAPTER 3 - CHAMPION MINDSET CHAPTER 4 - CONFIDENT CHAPTER 5 - COMMITTED CHAPTER 6 - COURAGEOUS CHAPTER 7 - CONVICTION CHAPTER 8 - COMPETENT CHAPTER 9 - COMPREHENSIVE CHAPTER 10 - CONSISTENCY CHAPTER 11 - CHARACTER CHAPTER 12 - CREDIBILITY CHAPTER 13 - CHARISMA CHAPTER 14 - COMMUNICATION CHAPTER 15 - CANDID CHAPTER 16 - COMPASSION CHAPTER 17 - COMPOSURE CHAPTER 18 - CHANGE CHAPTER 19 - COMMUNITY CHAPTER 20 - COACHFirefighter Success specifically shares the following with firefighters of all ranks and ages: -How to turn adversity and even failure into success-5 Steps to building credibility-5Keys to humility- 10 Strategies to becoming more confident-6 Fundamentals to staying committed for the long haul-5 Ways to deal with negative people-How to create a personal vision statement-The 3 R's of "Training Triangle"-101 Hands-on training ideas-3 Pillars of building competency-5 Key elements to building character-4 Steps to firefighter resiliency-"Top 10 Credibility-Killers" for firefighters-How to use positive habits and routines for longterm success-20 Rules for successful communication-5 Strategies for maintaining your composure-5 Fundamentals to becoming a well-rounded firefighter-10 Steps to becoming a thorough firefighter-8 Keys to leading change-12 Ways to build a successful team-4 Fundamentals of being candid-10 Steps to becoming an effective coach and mentor-And much more ...Each chapter includes ready-to-implement Action Steps, which provide firefighters with practical ways for short-term and long-term success.WHAT FIRE SERVICE LEADERS ARE SAYING ABOUT FIREFIGHTER SUCCESS: "Firefighter Success is the go-to guide to help you stay on the right path to a career of firefighter excellence." Jason Hoevelmann - Fire Chief - Florissant Valley FPD (MO) & Author of "No Exceptions Leadership""The simple, yet timeless wisdom contained in Firefighter Success provides the details to winning as a firefighter." Mark vonAppen - Captain - Palo Alto Fire Dept. (CA) & Founder of Fully Involved"Firefighter Success gives you 20 core principles that if applied, will not only help you excel at your job and in life. This book contains life lessons and experiences, both good and bad, that come together to form a message of excellence---which is shared from a place of humility and gratitude. I guarantee you that if you adhere to these principles, you will not only realize personal success, you will serve as an inspiration and example to those around you as well." Dan Kerrigan - Fire Chief - Upper Providence Township Fire & Emergency Services (PA) & co-author of "Firefighter Functional Fitness""I highly recommend Firefighter success. If you want to become a great firefighter, read it and live it." Frank Viscuso - Deputy Chief (ret.) - Bestselling Author: "Step Up and Lead"ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jim Moss is a career Fire Captain in St. Louis County (MO). His passions include leadership, training, and firefighter wellness. He shares his message on the national level, presenting at fire departments and firefighter conferences. Jim is also the co-author of the #1 Amazon Bestseller: Firefighter Functional Fitness, available at FirefighterFunctionalFitness.com.Learn more at FirefighterSuccessBook.com

With over twenty years of experience, The Game will prepare you for the many roles and expectations of a rookie firefighter, and will explain the different points that are critical to your success during probation. After reading The Game, you will be ready to start your career with the knowledge of an experienced firefighter in your back pocket.

Firefighter Functional Fitness is the essential guide to optimal firefighter performance and longevity. It provides all firefighters with the knowledge, mindset, and tools to:Maximize their fire ground performance Reduce their risk of injury and experiencing a line-of-duty deathLive a long, healthy career and retirementDesigned for firefighters by firefighters, this book shares the The 4 Pillars of Firefighter Functional Fitness: Physical FitnessRecovery and RestHydrationNutrition and LifestyleIt also reveals the The Big 8 concept, which includes over 100 photos and descriptions of functional exercises, movements, and stretches that are specifically designed to enhance firefighter performance. The Workout Programming chapter gives firefighters numerous options for putting The Big 8 into action, taking into account all levels of fitness. Additionally, each chapter provides practical action steps for both immediate improvement and long-term success.Must-read bonus chapters include:The Importance of Annual Medical EvaluationsAn Analysis of the Fire Service's Cardiovascular EpidemicFirefighter Physical Agility AssessmentsAddressing Organizational Barriers to FitnessFrequently Asked QuestionsAlarmingly, over the past 10 years, the fire service has suffered more than 1,000 line-of-duty deaths. Unfortunately, over 50% of these LODDs were attributed to heart attacks, strokes, and other medical causes. Firefighter Functional Fitness attacks these statistics by providing all firefighters with the tools needed to combat this epidemic.Firefighter Functional Fitness brings together the authors' combined 40+ years of fire service experience and decades of utilizing functional fitness principles. The result is an invaluable resource with the vital tools and knowledge that firefighters desperately need to not only enjoy a healthy and productive career, but also benefit with a healthy retirement.

Three Key Messages: -- This is important. -- You can do it. -- I won't give up on you. Training ordinary people to do extraordinary things requires an understanding of how we learn. Developing Firefighter Resiliency starts with the basic psychophysical aspects of learning. The fire service has unwittingly used a failure-based training model for many years. Hands-on training exercises are often based on unachievable objectives. Trainers are often not educated about the psychology of adult learning or the effect of stress during learning. Consequently, participants face learning activities with mastery-level skill requirement to succeed when competency has yet to be established. This amounts to a never-ending diet of tests without actual skill development. Accessing knowledge under extreme circumstances cannot be left to chance, because the penalty for failure is severe. This book provides the roadmap for a journey to train, establish relevancy for the lessons, develop competency in the skills, and capitalize on confidence to achieve mastery. We study the impact of a stressful environment on the ability to learn and function.

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

Professional development and leadership with you in mind A good friend once said about Chase Sargent that he’s “a very intelligent man, but he sure does tick people off sometimes.” Sargent doesn’t disagree. He may have made some people mad, but he wishes he had done it more often to get this point across: “Leadership—in all aspects of life—is sorely lacking.” The second edition of From Buddy to Boss: Effective Fire Service Leadership reinforces the fact that the fire service is screaming for leaders as men and women discover that leadership is important to their existence and success. Being a firefighter can be tiring and frustrating, but it can be rewarding. It’s not only about the job, “but also about raising kids, managing your life, and trying to be a good person, attached to God, country, family, and friends,” says the author. Many leaders today are surrounded by external politics, hidden agendas, fiscal constraints, and manipulative people. Consider these factors when navigating your career. Sargent knows from decades of experience that simply reaching the top of the organizational ladder does not make you a good leader. Before he went into teaching this subject, “It became apparent very quickly that the leadership and human resources training being provided was as scarce as water in a desert and that the fire service was thirsty.” This new second edition includes must-read topics on leadership lessons from the War in Iraq, knowing death in the fire service, and providing leadership in large-scale disasters. This book will change your life.

The essential guidebook for thriving as a firefighter. Over 20 years of research and 100's of interviews were incorporated in the foundational principals shared in this book.Discover the mindset, attitude and habits that make firefighters great & respected. Discover 3 the destructive C's of a fire service career and how to avoid them and discover the firefighter training success diamond.Learn how great firefighters stay focused and motivated and how to become a respected firefighter among respected firefighters. These and so much more in this jam-packed guidebook for thriving as a firefighter.Learn more at FirefighterPreplan.com

A revealing guide to a career as a firefighter written by acclaimed author Jeff Wilser and based on the real-life experiences of the heroes of the St. Louis fire department—required reading for anyone considering a path to this profession. Becoming a Firefighter takes you behind the scenes to find out what it’s really like, and what it really takes, to become a firefighter. Author Jeff Wilser imbeds with one of the oldest departments in the country, the St. Louis Fire Department, to show how this high-stakes profession becomes a reality. Discover what it’s like to fight a three-alarm blaze; attend fire academy; prepare for routine calls; and rigorously train for worst-case scenarios. Gain professional wisdom from the beloved fire chief as well as a decorated 25-year veteran field commander. Firefighting is a calling, and those who choose this path are devoted to their work—here is how this life-saving job is actually performed by the best in the field.