
The cover: The Virginia Beach (VA) Fire Department responded to a technical rescue incident involving a homeowner who attempted to remove a tree and experienced a cardiac medical emergency. The patient was 35 feet up in the tree and unable to come down without assistance. As is often the case, the tree and the patient were out of reach of the ladder trucks. A rescuer used tree climbing spikes to quickly access the patient and establish a high point anchor to lower the patient to the ground. The patient was transported to a local hospital with a STEMI. Incidents involving tree cutters often require special knowledge outside of the normal rope rescue curriculum. Acquiring expertise in tree climbing and dealing with partially cut tree limbs that are under pressure or trapping patients are specialty skills that are extremely perishable if not trained on regularly. Photo by Ray Smith.
FEATURES
When it comes to interviewing, be it for a new job as a firefighter or a promotional interview, your first few actions will dictate the outcome. MARK ROSSI
The Company Officer: It’s All About Trust
No other position in the fire service has the immediate/direct impact and lasting influence on individual firefighters. NICHOLAS PAPA
As departments juggle greater expectations and requirements from internal and external stakeholders, company officers are absorbing administrative responsibilities that overshadow their primary purpose of serving as a forward, task-level supervisor. MARC ALOAN
Guiding the Officer: The B-D-A Model
What have you done to set up the environment so issues have a minimized risk of occurrence (the “ before”), what are you doing about them when they do occur (the “during”), and how have you set up the future environment so they don’t reoccur (the “after”)? That is the B-D-A model. LEIGH H. SHAPIRO
First Due: Preparing for Large Events
Some people go through their entire career without that big first-due fire or event, but you must prepare as if it is right around the corner. ERIC LINNENBURGER
Managing Your Promotional Process
Promotional testing should be a vital function in every fire department. Testing can be an expensive investment, but if done wrong it can become much more expensive. DAVE CASEY
What Does It Mean to Be Accountable to Your People?
It comes down to the long and short game of building people for growth, perseverance, and contribution to themselves, their team, and the culture, readying them to be able to evolve throughout their journey. JOHN R. BENNETT
Departments
EDITOR’S OPINION: Stepping Back and Staying Around
TRAINING NOTEBOOK: The Essential Craft of the Training Officer: Where Preparation Meets Success
VOLUNTEERS CORNER: Fire Alarm Activations: Thoughts on Fixing Systems That Cry Wolf