Massachusetts and Boston Fire Chief Reading Lists Released

Massachusetts Civil Service has released the reading lists for the Municipal District, Deputy and Fire Chief and the Boston District and Deputy Fire Chief promotional exams on March 17, 2012.

The Massachusetts Municipal reading list is:

• Building Construction for the Fire Service, 4th ed
• Safety & Survival On The Fireground
• Managing Fire & Rescue Services, 3rd ed
• Fire Detection & Suppression Systems, 4th ed
• Hazardous Materials for First Responders 4th ed
• Introduction To Fire Origin & Cause, 3rd ed
• National Incident Management System FEMA 501, 2008 ed
• Strategic & Tactical Considerations on the Fireground 3/e
• The Human Challenge, 7th ed

The Boston reading list is:

• Building Construction for the Fire Service, 4th ed
• Safety & Survival On The Fireground
• Managing Fire & Rescue Services, 3rd ed
• Fire Detection & Suppression Systems, 4th ed
• Hazardous Materials for First Responders 4th ed
• Introduction To Fire Origin & Cause, 3rd ed
• Strategic & Tactical Considerations on the Fireground 3/e
• The Human Challenge, 7th ed

We have discounted promotional packages available. You can order by calling us at 800.522.8528 or online at www.Fire-Police-EMS.com.

Also, just a reminder that on October 22 from 1-4 PM we'll be having our annual open house and book signing! A number of great authors will be in store, we'll have a ton of items on sale and some special surprises. Keep an eye on this blog, our website, Facebook and Twitter for more details coming soon!

Assessment Center Preparation

Assessment centers can be nerve racking, but are also a great way to test potential hires or identify those best for promotion. Knowing what strategies to have, or what to prepare for can make all the difference in the world. We offer a number of resources to help with assessment centers and testing.

The newest book is Assessment Centers for Public Safety (BA9760 / $49.95). Formerly known as Preparing For Promotion this book is an invaluable resource which covers each component of the assessment center in detail. it also covers some non-assessment center subjects such as oral interviews and accomplishment surveys. the core of the book is to help you prepare for the job itself and strengthen your skills in becomeing a great supervisor.

Fire Engineering's Assessment Center Strategy & Tactics (BA9759 / $49.00) includes test preparations, scoring strategies, and test taking tips as well as study cues to help you prepare.

Also from Fire Engineering is Mastering The Fire Service Assessment Center (BM4740 / $49.00). This book identifies the key knowledge, skills and abilities required for success in the assessment center promotional process. The humorous and matter of fact style in which its retain makes it easy to retain the information provided. There is also an accompanying DVD (DM1870 / $59.00) to help prepare for the simulation process.

Successful Promotion (BS9400 / $24.99) is authored by two police lieutenants with years of experience sitting on promotional oral boards and assessment center panels. thsi sbook discusses all aspects of preparing for promotion, including oral interviews and assessment centers.

There are many other resources to help prepare candidates for testing, interviews and more. A complete listing can be found here.

I also wanted to quickly congratulate author George Kreuscher on winning International Writer's Digest Award for his book Fireman. This is one of our favorite books and a must read. It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. Congrats George!

As always you can visit us online at www.Fire-Police-EMS.com, follow us on Twitter, and become a fan on Facebook. And is you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, email us at support@fire-police-ems.com.

Massachusetts Fire Chief Promo List posted and some friendly advice

Just a quick note to announce that Civil Service has released the Massachusetts Municipal District, Deputy and Fire Chief promotional reading list. The reading list is almost the same as last year, with the new 2008 edition of NIMS FEMA 501 replacing the 2004 edition. The list is:

Brannigan's Building Construction 4th ed.
Vincent Dunn's Safety & Survival On The Fireground
ICMA's Managing Fire & Rescue Services
IFSTA's Fire Detection & Suppression Systems 3rd ed.
IFSTA's HazMat For First Responders 3rd ed.
IFSTA's Introduction to Fire Origin & Cause 3rd ed.
NIMS FEMA 501
Strategic & Tactical Considerations on the Fireground 2nd ed.
The Human Challenge 7th ed.

the Boston list is the same as the statewide one, but without the NIMS book. A complete listing of all books and study guides can be found on our website at www.fire-police-ems.com.

We've covered our advice for studying in previous blog posts, but some to save you looking back we'll give you another quick rundown here.

Study guides are encouraged, but only if you are going to use them. I'd say the majority of people get them, but if you're usure its best to wait. The study guides will always be available and can be purchased later. And don't think you can pass by only reading the study guides. I'm yet to hear of any cases where this strategy worked.

If you're unsure you may not want to buy all the books at once. You save money on shipping that way, but you don't want to psych yourself out before you even get going. Many times we've had books returned to us because "it just looks like too much".

Its a lot of reading with only 6 onths to do it, but you need to dedicate yourself to studying. If you have some free time try to resist watching Sportscenter and pick up one of your books. The more time you put in, the better your chances of gettting the high score.

Study groups are also a great way to help each other learn the books, but everyone must be fully gung ho. No skipping meetings or cancelling because you got Sox tickets. Offer the Sox tickets to your friendly FSP sales associates, and head off to your study group.

If you have other study tips we'd love to hear them. Post them in the comments and we'll stick them in a follow up blog later. Rememember for last products and reading list announcements follow us on twitter http://twitter.com/FSPbooks and Facebook. Questions or comments? Email support@fire-police-ems.com.