If you want to know what a firehouse culture is, just add the word “firehouse” in front of most of those definitions. But you also must be willing to live with this particular restriction: It all depends upon which level of the fire service, the fire department or the individual subcomponent you're discussing.

Just for the heck of it I went on Yahoo.com and typed in “firehouse culture” and received quite a few hits. The list was divided between both positive and negative stories, so I guess there's little reason to debate the existence of a culture in this business. The real question is what do all of those hits mean to us, and more importantly to you? It was revealing to see the terrific price imposed on organizations that have experienced negative events and to learn how little the positive events seem to make up for the negative. The “attaboys” don't seem to make up for the “A-you-know-whats.”

The fire service has been characterized as a brotherhood and later as a family, which has resulted in both positive and negative connotation. Some of the acts being committed within firehouse culture are nothing less than brutal and anything but familial. We have a very positive image in the minds of the public that can be marred by failing to live up to it. As a profession we have to admit to having a culture. It's our legacy. It is the past of the profession that has given rise to both positive and negative phenomena. As a profession, the only question that remains is: What is an acceptable culture?

What is the image of our profession? Many would answer with positive descriptions that somehow wraps themselves around the “hero” concept. Currier and Ives started it, but it has been influenced along the way by everything from the adventures of Squad 51 to the antics of Denis Leary on the TV series Rescue Me. Toss in Steve McQueen from the Towering Inferno, Kurt Russell from Backdraft and John Travolta from Ladder 49, then mix in John Wayne's portrayal of a character inspired by Red Adair in Hellfighters, and you have the makings for a new rock sculpture in the Black Hills alongside the presidents. Does anyone remember the names of the stars of Third Watch? Perhaps they can join the others on Mount Firefighter.

The fire service has done a fairly good job of trying to tell our story as the epitome of heroism. Look at all the books we've written, ranging from real-world accounts of firefighters operating under the stress of combat to fictionalized stories that lionize the behavior of characters who wear uniforms and badges. Several books in my collection are based on story-telling about pranks and antics that once were prized as examples of firehouse humor. As a book collector, I add several to my collection every month. I bet you have one or more on your bookshelf, too. However, these stories chronicle the acts of individuals, not organizations, and many of these books herald a past that doesn't exist today.