Fire & EMS Leader Pro

Check out this Guest Post from Lieutenant (Ret.) Kenny Mitchell, also founder of Outside the Yellow Tape (OYT) an organization dedicated to removing the stigma that prevents too many firefighters from seeking help for their mental health issues.

At the Fire Service Psychology Association- Admin, fire service leaders (Like and Dr. Burton A. Clark, EFO), psychologists, and masters-level clinicians are promoting the "5 Domains of Psychology" to the fire service: Assessments, Interventions, Industrial/Organizational (I-O), Operations, and Consultation. This wonderful graphic from @I-O Psych Memes accurately depicts just 6 of the many aspects of I-O that could provide great benefits for fire departments and their people. Join us in helping to "bridge the gap between professional psychology and the fire service!" Become a member of FSPA today at www.firepsychology.org.

Are you looking to fulfill your mission of supporting first responders, military members, or their loved ones - but you could really use a hand figuring out how to get the funding you need? Then check out the latest from my colleague, Violet Rymshaw, PsyD, who's not only a psychologist (That's the PsyD part of her title) but a pretty darn good grant writer and grant researcher, particularly in the realm of mental and behavioral health grants that can benefit those organizations working with firefighters and EMS personnel. Innovative Writing courses provide the tips you need to propel your grant writing and funding to the next level. Check it out for yourself and your organization at https://lnkd.in/eBG6x74G

Hard to believe that it's been 42 years since I joined this Band of Brothers as Chesterfield (Va.) Fire Department (Now Chesterfield County Fire and EMS) Firefighters. Those of us who were already EMTs went to fire stations while the rest went through EMT school during May. We all came together June 1st to start our Recruit School training under the tutelage of Sgt. Dickie Coffey.

WOW! Can this guy talk or what? No, not my fantastic host, Joseph Brigandi, NREMT, M.Ed, NCC, LPC, me! Thank you s-o-o-o much, Joe, for the opportunity to talk about the Fire Service Psychology Association- Admin, firefighter mental health issues, peer support, fire service retirement, and more. You're an excellent podcast host and I would welcome the opportunity to do it again in the future! #FireFighterMentalHealth #MentalHealth

Check out my latest contribution to FireRescue1 online. Honored to have my piece included in FR1's latest eBook, "The Ultimate Ventilation Guide." A time-tested acronym for fire suppression, RECEO-VS stands for Rescue, Exposures, Containment, Extinguishment and Overhaul, with the tacked-on Ventilation and Salvage addressed as a “when needed, where needed” tactical operation. But as we’ve learned more about the increased risks for firefighters to develop cancers (when compared to the public) from the chemicals, chemical compounds and carcinogens present in the smoke of today’s structural fires, firefighters must reevaluate the importance of ventilation specific to cancer prevention. In short, ventilation is needed any time something has been burning inside a structure. #FireRescue1 #FireChief Fire & EMS Leader Pro

In my volunteer work as a fire service member of the Fire Service Psychology Association- Admin, I came across this book at last October's Brothers Helping Brothers Firefighter Health and Wellness conference in Beavercreek, Ohio, and I highly recommend it as required reading for everyone who's approaching retirement as a firefighter. More importantly, as the author states many times in her book, the time to prepare for retirement is well before that time comes, just like pre-fire planning.

Good article, Chad Costa, BA, CFO, that should prompt discussion, particularly discussion--and action--to develop a pre-employment psychological assessment tool that's been specifically designed for use with firefighter candidates. I wrote about what should serve as the genesis for such an effort in an article published by FireRescue1, Pre-employment psychological screening: What’s next for the fire service? (August 19, 2022). But any such tool must be developed from the ground up, using the methodology used by California POST, not just a "copy & paste job." There are likely many good aspects of POST that might find their way into a fire service pre-employment psychological assessment tool, but those aspects should be discovered during the process. As a fire service member of the Fire Service Psychology Association- Admin, I can state without hesitation that our fire service members, psychologists, and other mental health clinicians stand ready to aid the fire service in establishing such a tool. How can we help? https://lnkd.in/g5TJhe4W

Check out my latest post on my blog, Talking "Shop" 4 Fire and EMS! Why join the Fire Service Psychology Association if you’re in the fire service?

Our Executive Editor at FireRescue1, Chief Marc Bashoor, and a pretty good writer in his own right, hits the nail on the head with his recent piece of commentary! Here's a "primer": I agree that operational policies might differ based on various factors within communities: hydrants versus drafting, adequate minimum staffing levels, the standards of coverage within jurisdictions. These factors will impact our one constant – fire behavior. Fire behavior does not act differently in hydrant areas versus non-hydrant areas. What differs is your ability to provide a continuous water supply. Fire behavior does not change based on your staffing levels or standard of coverage. What differs is the structural impact based on your ability to efficiently fight the fire.