The Fire Family is a highly interactive program that delves deep into the foundation of marriage and family within the fire service. The program focuses on the reality that there exists two fire families. One is the station and department, and the other is home, spouse and children. More often than not, these two “families” compete for time and attention, and while the firefighter is caught in the middle, the spouse and children live in the unique world of growing up in what is often the secondary role to the fire department, and station/shift life. The program focuses on real issues, and was created with wives, firefighters and children of firefighters across the country. It also focuses on understanding the true advantage of having both families for the firefighter, spouse, and children, and to consider the following principles when navigating this unique life: 1) The importance of building a blueprint/foundation early in the marriage, that needs to be fluid, tended to and revisited on an ongoing basis. Having core values and agreements helps in navigating the crazy and difficult times. This foundation needs to include the children at an early age. 2) Merging the two “families” socially, and weaving them together from the onset is a key to the long-term success for the marriage and family, and to lessening the friction that can grow each year. As the firefighter’s career grows and needs more time, the home life and family also grows, and needs equal time. 3) Making communication and compromise a key in the entire family. 4) Understanding and knowing when to look for signs of stress, PTSD, and conflict triggers. Oftentimes, a shift can be overwhelming for a firefighter, and simply hopping back into home life within an hour of leaving a station is not possible. Working on those core agreements around this and finding ways to be honest about these issues are extremely important to the firefighter individually, and to the home life as a whole. 5) HUMOR! This program is presented with great humor, and full honesty. We fully engage the group, and learn quickly how their family dynamics work, and talk openly about the issues they face, and about what works best for them.