If you want to read a literary book on firefighting or small town living then this is the book. Population: 485 is a hilarious and moving collection of essays written about New Auburn, Wisconsin; a town of, yes, you guessed it–485 people. Not only is Michael Perry a skilled writer, he is also a volunteer firefighter/emt, and…
Read More“Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.” –Charles Dickens, David Copperfield Since I began Triple F, I have received many personal messages from women all over the country who are struggling in the…
Read MoreI am only halfway through The Combat Position, Achieving Firefighter Readiness by Christopher Brennan, but I thought I would share my thoughts since there is so much to say about this fantastic book. The Combat Position is a fluid read that addresses the mind, body, and spirit as it applies to firefighting warriorship. The premise of the…
Read MoreConfidence is key to high performance. For women in the fire service, confidence can be elusive, but it is essential if we are to thrive (and not simply survive) on the fire ground. Confidence gets ladders up. Confidence tears doors down. We need it to be our best, but ample obstacles exist. It is challenging…
Read MoreWe are still doing it. After all the critical incident stress debriefings, suicide prevention workshops, and unacceptably high number of firefighter suicides, (3 in one year on my dept.), we are still shutting people down who try to speak about calls and the sorrow they bring. In the past two weeks I have heard…
Read MoreMy officer and I are rescue divers and awhile ago we pulled a person from a lake. (I’m being vague for privacy’s sake.) The call came in for a possible suicide attempt. The lake was large and dark. It was at night and we couldn’t see anyone. Resources were called in. Police and Fire were…
Read MoreExtrication is like yoga. I remember my first day of extrication training in the academy. It was the zenith of summer in South Florida, and I thought I was working in purgatory. The sun was drilling us, and the tools felt like blocks of steel. Just to lift the Jaws and place them where…
Read MoreMen are built for power and women are built for endurance. Women’s bodies have evolved over a hundred thousand years to build and sustain life. For millenia, women have been building babies in their wombs and nursing them in their arms through hostile conditions, without medication, health care, half the food we have…
Read MoreThe Ever Evolving Journey of Triple F in Mind, Body, and Spirit When I, Gea Haff, began Triple F–Fabulous Female Firefighters! in 2013, three months after my mother died, I never imagined in my wildest dreams how far and fast this group would grow. I’m naturally private and shy, but my mother’s passing injected…
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