Firefighters are fiercely proud of their occupation and their ability to deliver emergency service. Departments are exceptional at maintaining and managing equipment. Greater work, however, needs to be done in maintaining and addressing personal needs, such as how firefighters treat each other.

Basically there are four universal principles and three rules of ethical conduct that are fundamental to the way we treat each other. How these rules are incorporated into our lives becomes the foundation that determines the basis for each person's character. The breaking of any of these rules gives cause for a negative social response.

The first principle is honoring a person's self-determination, or his or her autonomy, which consists of three rules: promise-keeping, or fidelity; truth-telling, or veracity; and confidentiality, or privileged information. The second principle is avoiding harm, or nonmaleficence, while the third is doing good, or beneficence. The fourth principle is fairness/entitlement, commonly known as justice. If an individual, group or organization breaks any one of these principles, that act will generally be followed by consequences.

It's each person's obligation to follow these universal principles of conduct as closely as possible. If someone breaks or is perceived to break any of these principles, then those harmed will withdraw and may avoid contact. For example, if you lie to co-workers and are found out, the co-workers will question your trustworthiness. If you continue to lie and it are found out, people will start to distance themselves from you. Your track record supports the idea that you can no longer be trusted to tell the truth. Your character, at best, becomes questionable. People at some point will withdraw because a lie causes harm. The process of withdrawing is called sanctioning.

An individual can be sanctioned for a number or reasons. Sanctioning occurs when someone fails to prevent harm to someone else, doesn't tell the truth, fails to keep confidence, causes harm or fails to help someone in need. There are no laws that state that a person must be ethical, nor are there any that force someone to be ethical. Society holds each of us accountable for honoring these principles, and the consequences for breaking them can be devastating.

An example of major sanctioning was the action taken against David T. Cash Jr., a University of California — Berkeley student. In May 1997, 20-year-old Jeremy Strohmeyer sexually assaulted and strangled 7-year-old Sherrice Iverson in the bathroom of a Primm, Nev., casino. Cash admitted to witnessing the initial attack, leaving before the actual molestation occurred, and then kept silent when his friend confessed details to him. Nevada law doesn't require witnesses to report crimes, so Cash was never charged in connection with the murder. However, because he broke the universal ethical principle of avoiding harm and also failed to do good, he became a marked man.

Cash was a senior in high school at the time of the incident, but when he returned to Berkeley for his sophomore year of college, the students voted in favor of a resolution asking him to leave the university and pushed the administration to expel him. Students would stare at him, give mean looks and refuse to talk to him. Although Cash broke no law, the students carried out their own form of punishment in hopes that their snubs would cause Cash to leave campus.

Much smaller and less dramatic sanctions occur daily in fire departments across the country. Firefighters sanction each other. Individuals avoid or withdraw from a peer because of harm (ethical or moral) the other caused. Sanctioning in an organization can be detrimental to its morale, communication and command, as well as to public interest.

In one fire department, two captains had an argument and stopped speaking with each other. One captain had caused harm to the other outside the argument. While they were avoiding each other, the off-going captain failed to let the on-coming captain know of a street closure during a morning shift change. When the engine was dispatched to a medical call on that street, the crew discovered that the street was closed and had to look for another route, prolonging response time.

What harm did the two captains cause? Obviously, the medical aid victim suffered, but the crew had to deal with the increased tension between the two captains. The shift suffered, the department suffered and finally the community suffered.

A healthy organization depends on communication and cooperation through the ranks. When communication is compromised, the entire department suffers.

To have healthy individuals and a better organization:

• Fess up

  Acknowledge if you are sanctioning or being sanctioned. Realize that sanctioning is a real problem and needs to be addressed.

• Step up

  Work toward resolving any sanctioning issues. It takes time, energy, courage and strength. Ask a friend, counselor, minister or chaplain for help if needed. It's a matter of individual and organizational health.

• Free up

  The results of resolving sanctioning issues will cause you to experience a new sense of freedom. You will feel better about yourself and the person you have been avoiding. Solving these issues can be liberating and enhance self-fulfillment.

These steps will assist departments by increasing morale, improving communication, adding to a friendlier atmosphere and reducing stress. Everyone becomes a winner. Firefighters need to take as much care of each other as they do their equipment.

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Ronald E. Richmond is a consultant who specializes in exposing employees and managers to ethical consideration in business environments. He received his master's degree in planning and public administration and his doctorate in public administration. Richmond is the author of Fire Service Hydraulics Workbook and Moral Development of Managers in Relationship to Their Leadership Style. Richmond is the co-founder of the Riverside Firefighter's Chaplain program, past chairman of the Riverside Community College Fire Science Advisory Board, a member of the Riverside Firefighters Benefit Association Negotiation Committee and EMS representative to the California Fire Chief's Association — Southern Section. He has held positions with the City of Riverside Fire Department as a firefighter, engineer, operations captain, deputy fire marshal, battalion chief and division chief.