Chief Officer: Principles and Practice

The Jones & Bartlett Learning Public Safety Group, in partnership with The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), is pleased to present the fourth edition of Chief Officer: Principles and Practice. Revised to address chief officers' most pressing challenges today, this edition has been updated to meet Chapters 11: Fire Officer III (NFPA 1021) and 12: Fire Officer IV (NFPA 1021) of NFPA 1020, Standard for Fire and Emergency Services Instructor, Fire Officer, and Emergency Medical Services Officer Professional Qualifications, 2025 Edition. Chief Officer: Principles and Practice, Fourth Edition enables future chief officers to skillfully transition from company officers to the problem-solving leaders their organization needs to take on everyday challenges in their community. Instructors and learners will find a clear division of Fire Officer III and IV content, chapters organized to communicate content clearly and reinforce critical concepts throughout the text, engaging case studies, and new content that every chief officer should know. New to the fourth edition: - Chapters featuring discussion questions to spark debate, review questions for self-assessment, case studies to promote critical thinking, and summaries listing the NFPA job performance requirements (JPRs) as well as the knowledge and skill objectives needed for student competency - Correlation grid featuring the job performance requirements (JPRs) from Chapters 11 and 12 of NFPA 1020, the detailed chapter knowledge and skill objectives, and the chapters and page numbers where the JPRs are covered - Updated content on professional development, communications, legal issues, human resources, government relations, budget and finance, community relations, code enforcement, community risk reduction, personnel management at the executive level, executive level planning, and disaster management - Updated National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Life Safety Initiatives - New discussion on identifying courses and programs to assist employees in meeting their professional development goals - New legal discussions on civil and criminal cases, stages of a lawsuit, elements of a binding contract, laws governing EMS best practices, Firefighter Bill of Rights, providing accommodations, records retention, cyberlaw, and more - New discussions on evaluations and the promotion process - New discussions on budget reductions and cost recovery programs - New discussions on briefing public officials, post-incident analysis (PIA) data, and using organizational benchmarks - New discussions on cybersecurity and fire service threats - Much more!