Free Email Mailing Lists
 

To better prepare yourself to become a firefighter, it is important to learn as much as you can about the career of a firefighter as well as continuously find ways to better prepare yourself to become a firefighter. One way to do this is by being on email mailing lists that are offered free of charge by many different resources.

I am assuming that you have heard the phrase "knowledge is power."  I firmly believe this is true; especially in regards to preparing yourself to become a firefighter and even after you have obtained that firefighter position of your dreams.  Many oral interview panels ask questions that test your knowledge of the fire service.  Keeping on top of current events in the fire and EMS world is critical.  Obtaining your 2-year degree in Fire Technology only provides you with enough knowledge to make you a safe beginner.  It is up to you to stay on top of the fire service, especially with current trends and techniques.  To become a master of your craft and become comfortable with the thought that to be successful in whatever you do, you must continue educating yourself.  As soon as you stop educating yourself and thinking that you know it all, that is when accidents can occur and we put others and ourselves at risk.

One way to stay on top of the fire service is by subscribing to Fire and EMS related publications.  While it is very worthwhile to start building a library of material that can assist you throughout your career, it can get quite expensive (but can be used as a tax write off once you become a firefighter - consult with your tax specialist to be sure).  An alternative to subscribing to Fire and EMS related publications is to subscribe to the various FREE email newsletters that are available from some of those publications.  Many of them provide daily or weekly updates on fire and EMS related topics that can provide you with more knowledge that can hopefully make you a better prepared firefighter candidate.  Some of the free email newsletters I have come across include:

"Captain Bob" Smith, a retired Hayward Fire Department Captain, puts out a monthly newsletter titled the "Fire Zine" that provides information to the firefighter candidate on how to do better at oral interviews.  You can get onto his mailing list by going to his website: CLICK HERE and scrolling down to "Free Fire Zine Email newsletter.".  Captain Bob's primary focus is on improving your oral interview scores. Besides the free “Fire Zine,” his website provides a wealth of information to the firefighter candidate as well as the promotional fire service candidate. This website is one of the best resources around.  

Don McNea Fire School out of Ohio puts out an email newsletter that provides information on various departments nationwide that are accepting applications.  They also have a variety of books for sale and information for the firefighter candidate, especially in regards to written tests, psychological examinations, and entry-level and promotional testing in general.  The Don McNea Fire School is the only resource I have seen that specifically assists the candidate with the written examination, as well as other related portions of the hiring process. Go to their website at www.fireprep.com for more information.

Los Angeles Fire Department – The LAFD has a great email mailing list that provides you with up-to-the minute information about what is occurring with the LAFD; a great way to stay in touch with one of the largest and most respected fire departments in the U.S. Go to www.lafd.org/info.htm for more information.

Daily Dispatch – This is a free daily email that provides you fire and EMS news from across the United States. Many of the news stories I send out on my email list are provided by this service, courtesy of the International Fire Chiefs Association. The nice part about this service is that you can choose which states you want to subscribe to, so that you can stay in touch with the areas of the United States you most care about. Go to www.dailydispatch.com for more information.

Fire Engineering Magazine - Go to www.fire-eng.com and to the top of the page on the left side, look for "E-Newsletters".  Click on that link and you can subscribe to their free email newsletter. For those of you that are not aware of Fire Engineering, they put out a monthly publication that is probably the best in the fire service.

Firehouse Magazine - Go to www.firehouse.com/insider/alerts.html and you can subscribe to their daily newsletter that provides a wealth of nationwide fire and EMS related information and news topics.  Their home page at www.firehouse.com is probably the most extensive and complete resource for fire related information. 

Fire-Rescue Magazine - Fire-Rescue Magazine a monthly magazine that is published by JEMS (see JEMS below for more information).  Go to www.firerescue1.com Fire-Rescue magazine is another good resource of information for the fire service.

Journal of Emergency Services (JEMS) - JEMS is the leading EMS related magazine currently in publication.  Go to www.jems.com and scroll down to "Sign up to receive our eNewsletter."  They will then send you EMS related information, usually about once a week or once every two weeks.  While on their website, take a look at what their site has to offer.  This is an excellent wealth of information in regards to the EMS world.  If you are planning to become an EMT, if you are an EMT that wants to do a better job for you patients, if you have the desire to become a paramedic, or if you are a paramedic that wants to keep on top of current EMT trends and techniques, this is a magazine I highly suggest that you subscribe to.  Subscription information can be found on the website above.

Real World Training & Consulting - A monthly email newsletter which links current events and issues to the daily challenges faced by fire and emergency services managers. Current topics in the areas of leadership development, workplace diversity, change management, and conflict resolution will be discussed. Go to www.rwtraining.com  and enter your email address in the box that says "Sign up for our free newsletter."

Firefighter Close Calls - "The Secret List." - This is probably the best website dedicated to firefighter safety and assisting us with doing our jobs to the best of our ability. Learn from the misfortunes of others, and learn some of the best tips to keep yourself healthy and safe while working in the fire service. Billy Goldfeder and Gordon Graham who host this free email list (and website) provide safety related news and tips on a regular basis. Go to www.firefighterclosecalls.com to subscribe and find out more information. Once there, look for the box to "Join the Secret List."

Everyone Goes Home: Firefighter Life Safety – The National Fallen Firefighters Association publishes a firefighter safety initiative monthly electronic newsletter, providing great firefighter safety information that just may save your life and the lives of your crewmembers! Go to: www.everyonegoeshome.com and click on the link on the left side of the page titled "Newsletter Archives."

United States Fire Administration (USFA) - The USFA offers numerous fire service email lists, such as:
- Firefighter fatality notifications
- Fire service alerts and notifications
- National Fire Academy class vacancies
- TRADENET (probably the best of all of them, a weekly training related email that allows you to post and answer training related questions and get answers from fire service professionals around the world. A must for anyone with an interest in training and education).

Go to: http://service.govdelivery.com/service/multi_subscribe.html?code=USDHSFA and enter your email address.  You will then be taken to a page which will allow you to select your choices of newsletters.

Chabot College Fire Technology mailing list – Some of you might be on this mailing list already. If you are, I hope you are finding it to be worthwhile. If not, here are some of the things I will try to make you aware of if you are subscribed to this FREE resource:

• Notification of fire and EMS employment opportunities
• Notification of when the new issue of the Chabot College Fire & EMS News is available
• Notification of various newsworthy items relating to fire and EMS that might have occurred nationwide
• Notification of volunteer opportunities
• Notification of information that is relevant to YOUR fire technology and EMS program at Chabot College

• Your name and email address will NOT be shared with anyone.  I promise to keep it confidential.

If you are interested in subscribing to this valuable resource, or you think you have already subscribed and have not received anything from me in the last month (which means your email address is not cooperating) and you would like to back on the email list, feel free to email me at sprziborowski@aol.com and let me know that you’re interested in being on the email mailing list.  In the subject heading of your email to me, please write something to the effect of “Chabot Fire mailing list” or something similar that alerts me to what you are asking of me.  On the average, I probably send out a few emails a week, so I process not to bombard you with useless information every day. I hope what I send to you will be worthwhile in some capacity.

Please do not expect me to compete with fine services such as www.firecareers.com or www.firerecruit.com – that is not my intention. If you’re waiting for me to send you the firefighter jobs, you’re going to miss out on a lot of opportunities, and you may not get them in a timely manner. Why? Because those companies pride themselves in having the most up-to-date firefighter testing information. I send things out when I find them on the internet or receive them from others that heard about them or discovered them while on the internet. While I may send out a job announcement every other week, they usually have multiple jobs listed daily, from across the country.

What are you waiting for?  This is a no-brainer!  I am a firm believer in the fact that you should subscribe to at least one fire or EMS related publication to keep yourself up-to-date. This is not meant to replace your subscribing to publications; it is meant to supplement the information that is given in those publications.

NOTE:            All of the above resources are for your information only. I am not endorsing any of the above individuals, services, and/or products.  I have my opinions about each and every one of them; however it is up to you to do your own research and find out what will most assist you in becoming a firefighter!  Find out for yourself and take the time to look into each of the websites to see if you may benefit from them.