Guest blog written by Battalion Chief Robert Avsec (Ret.) For only the second time in its 121-year history, the National Fire Protection Association is preparing to publish a new standard, NFPA 3000: Standard for Preparedness and Response to Active Shooter and/or Hostile Events, with provisional standard status. Provisional standards are developed when there is a serious life safety concern that warrants an abbreviated standards development process. Active shooters and hostile events It's no secret that in the U.S. we're besieged by an epidemic of gun-related violence. Regardles

Guest blog written by Battalion Chief Robert Avsec (Ret.) Firefighter training is not a synonym for testing.   We’ve all been a part of such an exercise, either as a student or an instructor or both. The 

Fire Service Leadership Profiles — Burton ClarkGuest blog written by Battalion Chief Robert Avsec (Ret.) After writing the first leadership profile of Dr. Denis Onieal, the subject of the next article in that series immediately came to mind. Dr. Burton Clark, Ed.D., was a natural choice because he’s had a tremendous impact on my fire service career and likely hundreds of thousands of my colleagues over the years. Dr. Clark has been many things over the years, but his LinkedIn Profile says it all: He lists himself as a Member of the Fire Service for more than 47 years.