Suburban Fire Tactics is a guide for suburban-based fire operations. All fire departments share the same common objectives: to save lives, protect and conserve property, and limit harm to the environment. How urban, rural, and suburban agencies differ is in the delivery of tactics and strategies. This book explains the factors that limit suburban operations and depicts the differences between urban and suburban capabilities. This is a valuable resource for policymakers, chief officers, company officers, and firefighters (both veteran and neophyte). Features and benefits: - Understand the key objectives and strategies for suburban operations. - Obtain a guide to develop suggested operating methods for suburban firefighting. - Gain the knowledge to develop and apply successful fireground tactics in suburban settings.

The ONE handbook thousands of fire officers and firefighters look to for safe, fireground-tested strategies and tactics. With his fifth edition, Chief John Norman offers lessons learned during his extensive and time-honored career. Chief Norman imparts wisdom and experience by offering advice informed by actual outcomes from the fireground. This guide continues to be invaluable for firefighters aspiring to the officer level and those seeking to promote safety and effectiveness in their organization and the communities they serve by improving their own skills. NEW TO THIS EDITION This fifth edition conveys valuable information gained over the past several years from scientific research relating to the tactics that we use to the changes that have taken place within our communities. Failure to recognize change and adapt to it places a fire department at a great disadvantage and can cost lives and property. The community changes that most directly affect the fire service today include faster, hotter, and more toxic fires and significantly reduced staffing in many fire departments. These are inescapable facts. Our challenge is to use the knowledge that is at our disposal to select the right tools, technologies, and tactics to safely and successfully adapt to and overcome these challenges. Chief John Norman has updated his best-selling book for fire officers and firefighters to include: A new chapter on fires in cellars and basements, which have taken on a deadlier aspect in recent years. How to safely deal with cumulative changes in the modern fire environment. The role of fire departments in terrorism and homeland security about specific threats from response to active shooters and sieges to bio-weapons. Divided into two parts—General Firefighting Tactics and Specific Fire Situations—Fire Officer’s Handbook of Tactics, 5th edition, begins with establishing ground rules for structural firefighting and then moves to specific situations of fires and emergencies in the most common structures and occupancies. The many photos, illustrations, and anecdotes provide readers with a greater understanding of the concepts and lessons in the text. As new technologies are introduced into the modern fire service, the basic strategies of firefighting—protecting life, confining the fire, and extinguishing the fire—do not change. What changes are the tactics.

Modern firefighting is a continually evolving science with new technologies constantly being applied to the fire service. In the latest edition of this perennial favorite, Norman examines these new technologies and how they affect fire ground tactics. He also details the new role firefighters play in homeland security.

"This text meets the course outcomes of the National Fire Academy's Fire and Emergency Services Higher Education (FESHE) associate level strategy and tactics course. It provides an overview of common firefighting concepts from fire dynamics to extinguishing agents, to incident management, to fire fighter safety, to building construction, to preincident planning to post incident analysis"--Back cover.

The Fourth Edition of Firefighting Strategies and Tactics meets and exceeds the course outcomes of the National Fire Academy’s Fire and Emergency Services Higher Education (FESHE) course Strategy and Tactics (C0279). Firefighting Strategies and Tactics, Fourth Edition is a valuable resource for fire fighters studying for promotion or taking civil service examinations. The Fourth Edition reinforces safe and effective firefighting strategies and tactics for fire fighters and fire officers to employ during a wide spectrum of fire incidents. The chapters follow a natural progression, each chapter building on the previous foundation to provide a broad understanding of firefighting strategy and tactics. Firefighting Strategies and Tactics, Fourth Edition offers in-depth coverage of potential incident hazards, strategic goals, and tactical objectives at: One- and two-family dwellings Multiple-family dwellings Commercial buildings Places of assembly High-rise buildings Vehicle fires Wildland fires The Fourth Edition also includes: An Emphasis on Safety—Safety and professionalism are stressed throughout the chapters and are reinforced through discussions of incident effectiveness, hazard awareness, and strategic decision-making. Information for Today’s Fire Service—Expanded and new discussions on geographic information system (GIS mapping), drone use for creating preincident plans, cancer risks in the fire service, gross decontamination of bunker gear after fires to reduce carcinogens, lookouts-communications-escape routes and safety zones (LCES), and deployment of rapid intervention crews at wildland fires. Engaging Case Studies—Opening each chapter, case studies highlight actual events to emphasize the importance of developing sound strategies and tactics to fight fires effectively and safely. Additional case studies close out each chapter and provide students an opportunity to test their understanding in a safe environment. Knowledge in Action—The final chapter demonstrates how the strategies and tactics throughout this resource may be applied in scenarios set at various types of occupancies. This feature offers students an opportunity to see how concepts are applied in the real world.

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

Safe and effective structural firefighting requires a complex thought process. It is not a simple matter of "how to." Decisions depend on many factors, from the type of building, to the likelihood of occupancy, to the water supply. The third edition of Structural Firefighting: Strategy and Tactics leads readers through all phases of planning, evaluation and implementation to enable them to effectively manage structure fire incidents safe and effective manner, regardless of size or complexity. The third edition has been revised to thoroughly cover the practical applications and limitations of the latest research from Underwriters Laboratories (UL) and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).