The Fire Environment: Timeless Lessons

Chief Alan Brunacini once said that firefighters hate two things: change and the way things are. While this was likely meant to be tongue-in-cheek-and it does make for a good laugh there is some truth to it. Change can be uncomfortable, and it is the responsibility of those implementing it to help members become comfortable with being uncomfortable.

The Philadelphia fire dynamics course was one of those necessary changes. There was no denying the evidence-based research. However, it quickly became clear that our way of doing business wouldn't require a complete overhaul, leaving the Philadelphia Fire Department unrecognizable. Quite the opposite-we were determined to emerge from this training stronger than ever before.

Our senior firefighters, through unmatched fire duty, paved the way for embracing this evidence-based research with their blood, sweat, and tears. Experience, combined with evidence-based research, has made the Philadelphia Fire Department Stronger than ever.

This book aims to demonstrate the correlation between lessons learned on the street and lessons learned from FSRI.