Street Smart Firefighting

by Robert C. Bingham

Finally, An Exciting New Approach To Really Improve Your Fireground Operations! Listen to what the fire service leaders have to say about Bob Bingham's new book, "Street Smart Firefighting." This book is the most practical, no no-nonsense and "tell-it-like-it-is" resource you will find. It is an immensely useful guide, filled with new ideas you can use. The advice is sound, insightful, and can be used by rookie firefighters, experienced chiefs, and everybody in between. Bob tells many true stories and speaks in a down-to-earth style, and that makes for a good easy read. The book is filled with common sense and introduces new concepts. When you are finished reading this book you will be better prepared to do your job, and it could save your life! --- This is what fire service leaders are saying about this new book: "This isn't just big city stuff, there is a wealth of information for the small town volunteer. This book is a must read for all firefighters." --- William (Sonny) Mullikin, Woodstock Volunteer Fire Department.--- "A tremendous book, that uses a logical and fresh approach to ensure that all our members return to the station every time." --- Dennis L. Rubin, Fire Chief, Atlanta, Georgia.--- Key features to help your operation: * How to reduce fireground injuries. * Recognizing dangerous situations. * How to avoid being lost or trapped. * Operating under-staffed firegrounds. * Basement fires the smart way. * Really fast ventilation. * Quickly developing a fireground plan. * Avoiding kamikaze roof work. * Developing street smart SOPs. * New attic fire methods. * Improving weak truck operations.--- About the Author: Chief Robert C. Bingham, a 31-year veteran of the fire service, served as a deputy chief in the District of Columbia Fire Department, where he was a command officer for 15 years. He has also taught at the National Fire Academy.

322 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 30, 2005

Reviews

[Kris Schnee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not a fireman, so I can't judge this for technical accuracy, but it's certainly interesting and it's approachable for a layman. There are vivid stories in here about what the life of a fireman is like, from the ongoing disputes about how to run things to what it's like in a true emergency. The book is also interesting for its focus on management: not "spray water like this, not that", but "here's how to run an organization that deals with deadly threats on a regular basis while minimizing risk and maintaining a useful command structure that supports the team".

My main gripes are that at least in the Kindle edition, there are some odd errors like a stretch (around location 2000 if I recall) where a lot of text gets randomly repeated. Even where there's no actual error it seems like a lot of points get repeated to excess. Still, I recommend this book even to people not specifically interested in firefighting.

[Steven Medina · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my first fire chiefs gave me this book after he retired from being chief. There is some good information for firefighters and fire officers in this book. A little
Bit of everything is just what you need sometimes.

[Ronald Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could use some updates with NIMS and What we have learned from UL and NIST studies.

[Jason Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! Down to earth, basic and informative. I could easily see this becoming required reading in drill schools everywhere.