The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) are pleased to bring you the Second Edition of Fire Officer: Principles and Practice, a modern integrated teaching and learning system for the Fire Officer I and II levels. Fire officers need to know how to make the transition from fire fighter to leader. Fire Officer: Principles and Practice, Second Edition is designed to help fire fighters make a smooth transition to fire officer.

Covering the entire scope of NFPA 1021, Standard for Fire Officer Professional Qualifications, 2009 Edition, Fire Officer combines current content with dynamic features and interactive technology to better support instructors and help prepare future fire officers for any situation that may arise.

Safety is Principle!
The Second Edition features a laser-like focus on fire fighter safety. Reducing fire fighter injuries and deaths requires the dedicated efforts of every fire fighter, fire officer, fire department, and the entire fire community working together. It is with this goal in mind that we have integrated the 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives developed by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation into the text. Likewise, in each of the chapters, actual National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting System cases are discussed to drive home safety and the lessons learned from those incidents. Some of the guiding principles added to the new edition include:

• Description of the “Everybody Goes Home” and the National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting System, including over a dozen company officer near-miss examples throughout the text.
• Description of the IAFC/IAFF Firefighter Safety and Deployment Study.
• The latest fire fighter death and injury issues as reported by the NFPA® National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, IAFC, and IAFF, including results of a thirty-year retrospective study.
• Changes in fire-ground accountability and rapid intervention practices.
• Results of National Institute of Standards and Technology research on wind-driven fires, thermal imaging cameras, and fire dynamics as related to fire fighter survival.
• The latest developments in crew resource management.

The Second Edition also reflects the latest developments in:

• Building a personal development plan through education, training, self-development, and experience, including a description of the Fire and Emergency Services Higher Education (FESHE) program.
• The impact of blogs, video sharing, and social networks.
• How to budget for a grant.
• Changes in the National Response Framework and National Incident Management System. Additional items related to fire fighter safety and health are included.