Emergency responders are assaulted each day by numerous forms of stress, ranging from the routine challenges of life to the unexpected trauma of fires and other disasters. This class is designed to help you function safely and effectively in a stressful environment. It is based on lessons learned from many years of managing fire and emergency operations with the New York City Fire Department. Personal fire experiences and videos are used to illustrate techniques that help you manage stress and perform more effectively in any kind of emergency operation. The presentation examines stress psychology, but is geared to provide very practical, hands-on recommendations for firefighters, company officers, chiefs, and EMS personnel. Channelized attention, task saturation, communication issues, social influences, and other factors that negatively affect the decision-making process are analyzed. The command bubble, the imposter syndrome, the size-up process and other fire service concepts are presented in a manner designed to improve a firefighter's situational awareness and capability under crisis conditions. See how the decision-making process that occurs on the fireground is a skill that can be developed and used to allow you to perform more confidently and safely in your work. Learn the tools that allow you to refocus from disabling fear to positive action in any challenging situation.