The Passion of Teaching

The Passion of Teaching

Teaching is born out of passion. Those who desire to gain wisdom, knowledge and experience, then pass it on, are a special breed. In the chosen craft of firefighting, those who teach have an awesome responsibility. We must ensure our message will prevent harm to our students, while giving them the latest, cutting edge tools and methods to save lives. Meanwhile, everything is changing: Our students, the fire environment, building construction methods, tactics, and even society. Fire service instructors are like an F-18 pilot trying to land at night, during a storm, on a carrier deck that is pitching and rolling constantly. 

 How do we stir the coals of our passion so it won’t grow cold? How do we ignite that passion in others? How do we formulate our message, modify it, and keep it current in a constantly changing world? 

Continuing Education Hours: 1.5

Instructor: Anthony Kastros

Anthony Kastros  is a 32-year veteran of the fire service and Battalion Chief with Sacramento Metro Fire District (ret). He brings a wide variety of experiences, a high level of energy and a sincere passion to his instruction and service. He is author of the Fire Engineering book and video series, Mastering the Fire Service Assessment Center – 2ndEdition. The curriculum covers an extremely comprehensive scope of the knowledge, skills and abilities that

span the dimensions of leadership, management, and emergency operations. It is used widely throughout the United States for officer development.

Also, from Fire Engineering, Anthony authors the 3-part DVD series Mastering Fireground Command – Calm the Chaos! This series focuses on fireground strategy, tactics, and ICS using actual incidents, video and simulations. The series covers fires in houses, multi-occupancies, apartments and commercial buildings.

In addition, Kastros authored the video series, Mastering Unified Command – From Hometown to Homeland. The video is focused on bridging the gap between fire and law for a true unified response and command platform to face the “New Normal” that is prevalent in America today. The video features many experts from around the United States, including former Secretary of Defense and CIA Director Leon Panetta. Kastros is donating all proceeds from this video to fallen fire, police and military organizations. A 4-day workshop is taught throughout the United States and was hailed by the Las Vegas police and fire communities as instrumental in their successful response to the Mandalay Bay Shooting in 2017. Kastros is an FDIC-International and Firehouse World instructor, was the Keynote Speaker at FDIC 2013 and is the recipient of the 2019 George D. Post Instructor of the Year Award from the International Society of Fire Service Instructors and Fire Engineering. Anthony hosts The Command Show, a monthly blog radio show through Fire Engineering. Kastros teaches leadership/team building and strategy/tactics to firefighters throughout the United States. He has taught thousands of firefighters in leadership, officer development, command and tactics throughout America.
As a USAR Team Manager with Sacramento Task Force 7, he deployed to Ground Zero on 9/11. Anthony spent 4 years with a Type 1 Incident Management Team and began Metro Fire’s Type 1 Rescue Company program. Anthony holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business and Human Resource Management, an Associate’s of Science in Fire Technology, and is a certified Fire Officer for California. His faith and family are the most important things in his life.