The Heat of the Moment

The Heat of the Moment

A Firefighter’s Stories of Life and Death Decisions

Summary

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Random House presents the audiobook edition of The Heat of the Moment written and read by Dr Sabrina Cohen-Hatton.

'[One of] the wonder women of our emergency services' Glamour

'An inspirational woman' Good Housekeeping

In the face of urgency and uncertainty, would you respond analytically or trust your instincts? How would you decide who lives and who dies?

Dr Sabrina Cohen-Hatton has been a firefighter for eighteen years. She decides which of her colleagues rush into a burning building and how they confront the blaze. She makes the call to evacuate if she believes the options have been exhausted or that the situation has escalated beyond hope. This is her astonishing account of a profession defined by the most difficult decisions imaginable.

Taking us to the very heart of firefighting, Sabrina uses her award-winning research to reveal the skills that are essential to surviving – and even thriving – in such a fast-paced and emotionally-charged environment. And she immerses us in this extraordinary world; from scenes of devastation and crisis, through triumphs of bravery, to the quieter moments when she questions herself and the decisions made in the most unforgiving circumstances.

Here is the truth about how we respond in our most extreme moments.

Reviews

  • An inspirational memoir from an extraordinary woman. The Heat of the Moment does for the fire service what Adam Kay’s This Is Going to Hurt did for the NHS. A humbling, jaw-dropping read which redefines what is possible in life
    Viv Groskop

About the author

Dr Sabrina Cohen-Hatton

Dr Sabrina Cohen-Hatton has been a firefighter since she was eighteen years old. She is now a Chief Fire Officer and one of the most senior female firefighters in the UK.

After leaving home at fifteen and school at sixteen, she joined the fire service in Wales. While climbing the ranks, she studied at the Open University and then at Cardiff University, eventually completing a PhD in Psychology. Her subsequent research into incident command in the emergency services has not only won awards but has also influenced policy at a global level. Sabrina was recently conferred as an Honorary Fellow at Cardiff University.

She lives with her husband and daughter in London.
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