I have a few issues with my turnout gear and it has taken me approximately 3 years to get someone to listen and realize that I am not just trying to draw attention to the fact that I am a female and I want to stand out. It appears that this is the perception, but I just want to blend in with all of them and I feel that I am not part of the system that we have because I am different.

An emerging area of related study is on the topic of firefighters and officers being exposed to the Big Fire Truckgases and particulate matter from a source that’s found in every fire station around the world: the diesel-powered fire apparatus out in the apparatus bay. The exhaust from diesel engines contains a mixture of gases and very small particles that can create a health hazard when not properly controlled.

Now that I'm a grandmother looking back on my fire service career, I feel as if I have something to share that I believe will help other public safety leaders to never lose faith in people and their organization. This is the best job in the world and my enthusiasm 36 years later is stronger than ever! I'm going to speak from the heart because I've always been a compassionate person who loves people.

Live with it. The insinuation in such comments is that a "me first" mindset on the part of every firefighter has no part in the fire service culture. Nothing could be further from the truth. If we, as firefighters, are not protecting ourselves or our brother or sister firefighters first to prevent injuries or deaths, then how are we able to accomplish the mission of saving lives if we become victims ourselves?

Why do we keep building homes and installing appliances and furnishings that don't keep fires from starting and spreading? A new stop fires paradigm is needed to eliminate preventable fires in the USA. We've made safer cars for years, why not safer homes?

Wildfire experts are telling us that fires are burning hotter and faster and being feed by fuels—trees and vegetation—that in most western states have been ravaged by drought and insect infestation. Yet people still build in the WUI, fail to take appropriate measures when building their homes and maintaining their property and then expect firefighters to come to the rescue when wildfires strike

On August 29, 2015 we will mark the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina coming ashore with catastrophic results20150825_severe storm damage for the populations of Louisiana and Mississippi. How ready are your department and community to manage the consequences of severe weather when it comes to town?

Dr. Clark’s book is a compilation—an anthology if you will—of his writings on the above topics over the course of the last 40 years. If you’ve missed the opportunity to “tap into” the brilliance of one the premiere fire service leaders of the past several decades, Dr. Clark’s book is a great way to get your “homework” done, albeit a little late.

Why do I characterize our current day as the Age of Enlightenment for the fire service? Because after decades of firefighting strategy and tactics that are based upon the “I think, feel or believe” method of decision-making we’ve entered into an era where technologies and applied research are yielding the information we need to truly move toward becoming a data driven decision-making profession.

Delivering outstanding customer service is not a “nicety” for your department; it’s the key to its survival. The successes I just described did not occur overnight or in a “vacuum”; they were earned one customer interaction at a time.