Effective communication skills are vital for fire officers to direct crew members, review policies and procedures, and exchange information. This chapter presents ways to improve communication skills, including understanding the communication cycle, developing basic skills like active listening, and countering environmental noise. It also covers best practices for emergency communications, such as key points for radio reports, and different types of reports and how to use them effectively.

1. Chapter 4 — Fire Officer Communications
Fire Officer: Principles and
Practice
Third Edition

2. Chapter Overview
‣Effective communication skills are vital for a fire
officer. These skills are essential to provide direction
to crew members, review new policies and
procedures, and simply exchange information in a
wide range of situations. Effectively transmitting
radio reports requires a unique skill set. This chapter
presents a variety of means of better understanding
and improving the fire officer’s communication skills.

3. ‣Describe the steps in the communication cycle (NFPA 4.2.2). (pp
62–63)
‣List the basic skills for effective communication (NFPA 4.2.2). (pp
63, 65–66)
‣Identify ways to improve listening skills. (pp 63, 65)
‣Describe the ways to counteract environmental noise (NFPA 4.2.2
). (pp 65–66)
‣Identify the key points for emergency communications (NFPA
4.2.1) (NFPA 4.4.5). (pp 66–68)
‣Identify types of reports and discuss their use (NFPA 4.1.2) (NFPA
4.4.5). (pp 68–72)
Learning Objective
After studying this chapter, you will be able to:

4. Section Slide
Section I: Introduction 4-5
Section II: The Communication Process 6-11
Section III: Effective Communication Skill Basics 12-19
Section IV: Emergency Communications 20-28
Section V: Reporting: Types of Reports 29-40
Chapter Content