Chicago Battalion Chief and 27-year service member Steve Chikerotis shares the experiences and stories that have shaped his career and the careers of some of the most influential names in firefighting in this compelling new book. A gripping compilation of 45 short stories and case studies, Firefighters from the Heart: Lessons Learned details actual fire service incidents from some of the most respected firefighters in the nation to convey valuable lessons on safety and risk management through education and awareness. These exciting stories make readers feel that they are on the scene of each heart-pounding incident, and inherently promote the development of crucial life saving instincts and leadership skills while inviting readers to develop a sense of appreciation for the challenges firefighters face.

The Site May 30, 2002 "How will we ever get through this?" is the question I asked on the night of September 11. "How?" Maybe the answer is here, all around me. Not just in the cleanup, not just in the purpose demonstrated by all who came and labored in these months. The answer is in the enduring spirits of all assembled here. That, for me, is the miracle in all of this: having looked horror in the face, we bear the pain without losing heart. -- Thomas Von Essen

Curt Yoder, a twenty-five year veteran firefighter of the Costa Mesa Fire Department in California, and his wife, Karen, bring you this heartwarming and inspirational collection of true stories, essays and poems from firefighters and paramedics across America.

He helped save people every day—but he had no idea how to save himself. Jason Sautel had it all. Confident in his abilities and trusted by his fellow firefighters, he was making a name for himself on the streets of Oakland, California. His adrenaline-fueled job even helped him forget the pain of his childhood—until the day he looked into the eyes of a jumper on the Bay Bridge and came face to face with a darkness he knew would take him down as well. In the following months, a series of traumatic emergency calls—some successful, others impossible-to-forget failures—drove Jason deeper into depression. Even as he continued his lifesaving work, he realized he could never rescue everyone, and he had no idea how to save himself. In the end, Jason was forced to confront the truth: only the relentless power of love could pull him back from his own deadly fall. Action-packed, spiritually honest, and surprisingly romantic, The Rescuer transports readers inside the pulse-pounding world of firefighting and into the heart of a man who needed to be broken before he could finally be made whole.

Recounts the personal story and international travels of a professional fighter, from his initial discovery of his passion for fighting upon his arrival in Australia, to his training at Bangkok's legendary Fairtex gym, to his research throughout the world in search of historical and contemporary fighting disciplines. Reprint.

FIRE IN THE HEART is a powerful memoir by a woman, once a shy, insecure schoolgirl, who reinvented herself as a professional wildland fire fighter. Determined to forge herself into a stronger, braver person, Mary climbs to new heights for a woman in the field in the 90s, eventually becoming a team commander of a Florida wildfire division. Filled with literal struggles for survival, tough choices and Mary's burning passion for what she does, Fire in the Heart, is an unflinching account of one woman's relationship with fire. But when she loses someone she loves to the famous Storm King Mountain forest fire in Colorado, which killed fourteen firefighters, Mary faces the hardest choice of her life; to stay in the game or turn back and try to find the woman she used to be. It is both a thrilling memoir about life-threatening work and a meditation on identity, strength, bravery, bonds, and survivor's guilt.