Bridge the gap between where you are and where you want to be. Do you have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to evaluate behavior, performance, and readiness? Read Mastering the Fire Service Assessment Center to identify what you need to learn and understand how to learn it. There is no way you can read and reflect on the wisdom in these pages and not become a better person and a better firefighter. Why Read This Book? The American fire service is facing a new normal fueled by mass exodus, influx of new generations of firefighters, a lack of hands-on leadership training, sweeping changes in mission, decimated budgets, and the genetics of task-oriented, reactive forefathers. The greatest and perhaps only area that we can affect directly is hands-on, inspiring, realistic, and useful training for our aspiring and incumbent leaders. This book will help you regardless of the fire officer rank you seek. It will help you know where you need to improve, how to develop a specific personal plan to become an excellent officer, and how to do well with whatever assessment center exercises throw at you. NEW MATERIAL in this second edition: --Enjoy reading “Wisdom from the Masters” from 18 fire service luminaries. They provide invaluable insights and challenges you will face as you prepare to promote, whether for the first time as a company officer or up the chain as a chief officer. --Learn lessons from thousands of students from the past 12 years whose feedback will benefit you in this second edition. --Benefit from the many new elements in this book, including relevant articles, additional exercises, and content regarding the dimensions of leadership, management, and emergency operations. The complexities of being a fire officer in the 21st century require an undercurrent of humility while continually pursuing mastery of leading in the modern fire service. Learn how to lead the modern-day firefighter in a modern world, with modern technology, modern fire behavior, and modern sociopolitical and economic challenges. Many firefighters ask themselves if they really want to do this job, but nothing is as professionally rewarding and challenging as leading others in battle to save lives! “This book will give you the greatest probability of success in your assessment center process.” —Bobby Halton, editor-in-chief, Fire Engineering magazine

This book offers an approach for helping fire officers understand people and their motivations and, as a result, their natural strengths. Through these techniques and skills of coaching, fire officers will learn to enhance the gifts of their subordinates and provide the elements for a strong and vibrant workplace that rewards people for good work, allows people to do what they do best, listens to people, and treats then with respect. Anyone responsible for training or professional development will benefit from reading this book. Master these skills and you will go a long way toward being an effective leader.

Getting promoted in the fire service is not an easy process. Many people have that desire to promote, but for whatever reason cannot put the pieces together to make it a reality. Over the 20 plus years I have been in the fire service, I have had the opportunity to be on both sides of the promotional process - as a candidate, and as a rater and proctor. This book will assist fire department personnel specifically prepare for their next promotional exam. Promotional candidates will be exposed to and offered key points for the most common tasks and events within a fire department promotional process including, but not limited to: promotional preparation, completing the application, resume preparation, the written exam, the oral interview, the personnel problem, the oral presentation, and the emergency simulation.

Chief Steve Prziborowski reveals more than 101 tips for getting promoted and becoming a vital asset to your fire department, family, and community. From soft skills to hard truths, this book covers what you need to move up the ranks the right way. FEATURING: • Sound advice for personal growth and personal improvement for any firefighter of any rank who wishes to advance • Insights, tricks, and tips for avoiding the pitfalls while preparing for a comprehensive promotional testing process • Bonus: Guidance from 37 professional, knowledgeable fire service veterans What others are saying: “Just like firefighting, getting promoted and moving up isn’t something you can succeed in alone­—it takes a team. Steve has assembled a whole bunch of good fire service veterans who own their very personal experiences, bumps and bruises along with their successes, to help you figure this out. Sit back and prepare to soak up decades of advice based on experience so you can start the climb up.” —Deputy Chief Billy Goldfeder (Proudly bumped and bruised since 1973) “After years of teaching thousands of aspiring fire rescue officers, Steve Prziborowski has documented his highly successful training information. You need this book if you are looking to get the edge up on the competition and demonstrate to the hiring authority that you are ready for the job. If you are serious about being a successful fire rescue officer at any rank, do yourself a favor and add this text to your personal library today!” —Fire Chief Dennis L. Rubin “Committing to taking a promotional exam requires a Herculean effort, a never-looking-back attitude, and a willingness to give up your life as you know it until the exam is over. The book is an invaluable resource to guide your journey. Study hard and then study harder. Good luck.” —Deputy Chief (Ret.) Anthony Avillo, North Hudson Regional (NJ) Fire and Rescue

A straightforward guide to pass the firefighter interview with a better score than your competition.Landing a career with a paid fire department can feel like you¿re standing alone against insurmountable odds. You prepare to answer 101 possible interview questions hoping to include what the board wants to hear. But, in the end, it feels more like a game of luck. We felt that way, too. Until, we figured out exactly what the board was looking for. Now, we¿ve helped hundreds of men and women, just like you, land their dream job.The truth is, your success has nothing to do with odds or luck. By following our proven interview system, you can enter your interview with confidence and ready to answer ANY question that comes your way. In this book, you¿ll learn everything you need to know to pass the interview with a TopScore. Including: ¿The types of questions you will face so nothing comes as a surprise; ¿Exactly what the interview board is looking for and how to include it;¿How to form complete answers and maximize your interview time; and¿The Rules of the interview so little things don¿t jeopardize your success. Don't leave your dream career up to chance and get stuck in the inevitable circle of testing year after year. We have been there. We know how expensive and time consuming the testing process can be. Commit to reading this book, and together we can make your next interview your last. "I am so thankful for the techniques I learned from TopScore. I can honestly say without them I would not have my dream job today.¿ -Kevin

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) And The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) are pleased to bring you the Second Edition of Fire Officer: Principles and Practice, a modern integrated teaching and learning system For The Fire Officer I and II levels. Fire officers need to know how to make the transition from fire fighter to leader. Fire Officer: Principles and Practice, Second Edition is designed to help fire fighters make a smooth transition to fire officer. Covering the entire scope of NFPA 1021, Standard for Fire Officer Professional Qualifications, 2009 Edition, Fire Officer combines current content with dynamic features and interactive technology to better support instructors and help prepare future fire officers for any situation that may arise. Safety is Principle! the Second Edition features a laser-like focus on fire fighter safety. Reducing fire fighter injuries and deaths requires the dedicated efforts of every fire fighter, fire officer, fire department, And The entire fire community working together. it is with this goal in mind that we have integrated the 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives developed by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation into the text. Likewise, In each of the chapters, actual National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting System cases are discussed to drive home safety And The lessons learned from those incidents. Some of the guiding principles added To The new edition include: Description of the “Everybody Goes Home” And The National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting System, including over a dozen company officer near-miss examples throughout the text. Description of the IAFC/IAFF Firefighter Safety and Deployment Study. The latest fire fighter death and injury issues as reported by the NFPA® National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, IAFC, and IAFF, including results of a thirty-year retrospective study. Changes in fire-ground accountability and rapid intervention practices. Results of National Institute of Standards and Technology research on wind-driven fires, thermal imaging cameras, and fire dynamics as related to fire fighter survival. The latest developments in crew resource management. The Second Edition also reflects the latest developments in: Building a personal development plan through education, training, self-development, and experience, including a description of the Fire and Emergency Services Higher Education (FESHE) program. The impact of blogs, video sharing, and social networks. How to budget for a grant. Changes in the National Response Framework and National Incident Management System. Additional items related to fire fighter safety and health are included. Click here to view a sample chapter from Fire Officer: Principles and Practice, Second Edition .