The question of the fire service's overall image is easier to tackle than the different levels of fire service culture. We all benefit from the association with the hero. Let's dispense with the obvious and suggest that our overall culture is value-driven and based on the idea that those who are willing to put themselves into harm's way to protect life and property share a culture of courage, commitment and competency that demands a fairly high level of personal knowledge, skill and ability. We have the trust of the American public; we are America's heroes. There may be a lot more to it than that, but that's a good start.

The next level is harder, much harder. What is the culture of your department? Want to get more difficult? What is the culture of your platoon? How about your battalion or your individual fire company? Acceptable and unacceptable behavior at these levels are an order of magnitude more important than crafting the fire service's image. I would say that it's possible to believe in the culture of the fire service overall while still committing absolutely heinous acts at the lowest possible department level.

There's proof of this thesis in the many stories I read on the Internet. One headline stated it succinctly: “Firefighters' Halos of 9/11 Tarnished.” As I reviewed these articles, I started to formulate a series of questions that you might find useful to assess the potential for a cultural bomb going off on your watch.

If you're feeling some butterflies in your stomach at this point because you think I'm going to bash what others in the fire service might have done, forget it. This isn't some self-righteous way to lead or manage a department. It's about the reality of working with human beings in the context of a high-responsibility/high-stress work environment. I'm not making any judgments. I only want to draw attention to the potential for getting into a situation that could compromise an organization.

However, there is a process gaining momentum in the fire service that may apply to this discussion: the focus being placed on ethics. These are not parallel issues; they are concurrent and at some point will intersect with either positive or negative consequences. Again, I'm not suggesting any individual course of behavior. I merely want to recognize that, at any time, there but for the grace of God, go many of you. If you have thought about this topic, maybe it will turn out one way. If you haven't thought about it, it may turn out differently.