FirePsyche: Mental Toughness and the Valor Mindset on the Fireground

by Eric J. Nurnberg, Michael J. Asken

FirePsyche introduces and advances mental performance concepts and skills using the VALOR Mindset framework. The central objective of FirePsyche is to provide fire officers and firefighters with an improved understanding of human performance under operational stress while introducing concepts and skills that enhance physiological function, self and situational awareness and tactical resilience.

When originally published in 2014, it joined a lengthy list of books that sought to enhance fireground performance and safety, however, it was the first book to exclusively examine the mental aspects of fireground performance. Dr. Mike Asken and Eric Nurnberg wrote the book in Leadership Under Fire’s formative years and the book has served as a primer for human performance optimization efforts in the FDNY, the Milwaukee Fire Department and several other fire-rescue departments.