The following series of questions will help chief fire officers assess the culture that exists in their firehouses.

• What are the distinguishing characteristics of a lifestyle in our fire stations?
• How is camaraderie developed and sustained? Positively or negatively?
• How is teamwork created at the lowest possible common denominator, the fire company?
• Does familiarity ever breed contempt?
• Is it really true that captains are neither fish nor fowl and won't address disciplinary issues?
• What has gone wrong in fire station culture in the past?
• Is there any difference in a firehouse when individuals eat together as opposed to one where they don't share meals?
• Is there any difference in a firehouse when individuals sleep in common dorms as opposed to individual rooms?
• What is the level of tolerance for “hazing”?
• What is the level of tolerance for humor?
• What happens when an individual has a breach of confidence with other team members?
• What sort of behavior constitutes sexual harassment?
• What does the term “zero tolerance” really mean in an organization?
• How is a person initially accepted into your firehouse culture?
• How is membership in that culture sustained?
• What rites of passage are expected in your department?
• Would the average person in your community be offended by these rites?
• How much are recruit firefighters taught about acceptable and unacceptable behaviors in the fire station?
• How does a person get rejected by a firehouse culture? What are the consequences of that rejection?
• Who is responsible for discipline at the fire company level? The battalion level? The platoon level? The departmental level?
• If a serious incident occurs at a station, what is the level of tolerance for covering it up?
• What is the net effect of the “code of silence” on the organization's credibility?
• If an incident in a fire station results in disciplinary action, what is the punishment for the person who reported it?
• What is the punishment for someone who observed the incident but took no action?
• What behaviors are tolerated in the firehouse?
• What behaviors absolutely aren't tolerated?
• Would the conversation around the dinner table or in the apparatus room be accepted by other members of society?
• What does the term “crossing the line” really mean?
• What components of firehouse culture have negative consequences when viewed through the prisms of gender, religion, race and sexual orientation?
• What happens when political debates occur in the firehouse? Are people who aren't in the room more likely to be criticized than those in the room?
• What are the most positive aspects of firehouse culture in your department?
• Has your department's firehouse culture changed in the last five years?
• Has regional fire service culture changed in the last 10 years?
• Has the culture of the fire service changed in the last 20 years?
• Does working in a busy station affect the culture versus working in a slow station?
• Does the operation of an ambulance or paramedic system affect the culture?
• Do educational levels affect the culture?
• What are the primary factors as to whether an individual has high morale?
• What are the determining factors as to whether a fire company has high morale?
• What are the primary factors as to whether an entire department has high morale?
• What are the signs to the public that there is bad morale in a firehouse?
• How would you characterize the reputation of your department in the community?

If you thought about these questions as you read them, you may have had some of the same thoughts that I experienced while writing them. Did you pause when you remembered some of the things you did as a firefighter? I know I did. Did you recall anything that you or a member of your department did during your last recruit academy that could be misinterpreted? Did you regret doing something in the past? I certainly had that feeling. Were there some questions where you started to defend your personal position on the topic before you answered them? If you're normal, you probably did.