Soldiers are trained to obey orders: Snap to attention, salute smartly and state, “Yes, Sir.” Nowhere in the job description does questioning authority enter the picture. The same could be said about the fire service.

Since Sept. 11, Alfred Lord Tennyson's Charge of the Light Brigade has been cited many times to extoll the courage of those brave firefighters — indeed firefighters throughout our nation. Some verses are familiar:

Cannon to the right of them,
Cannon to the left of them,
Cannon in front of them Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell Rode the six hundred.

When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wonder'd.
Honor the charge they made,
Honor the Light Brigade.
Noble six hundred!

In the 1850s Russia was the largest and most populous country in Europe. Czar Nicholas I was determined to expand that influence by gaining control of Constantinople, the crossroads of the world. He sent in his troops, challenging the Sultan of Turkey to give up this valuable piece of real estate. Turkey, in turn, declared war knowing that their British and French allies would fight for them. This was the beginning of the Crimean War.

In 1854, Tennyson read an account of the slaughter of the British at Balakava and was thoroughly appalled. The brigade was sent directly into the most deeply entrenched Russian artillery because of a “misinterpretation of orders.” Of the 600 cavalrymen, fewer than 200 returned. When he read the phrase, “Someone had blundered,” he had his inspiration.

Read more of the poem and decide if this is the way to continue running the fire service.

“Forward the Light Brigade!”
Was there a man dismay'd?
Not tho' the soldier knew Someone had blunder'd:
Their's not to make reply.
Their's not to reason why.
Their's but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred.

“Someone had blunder'd.”

Most years this nation loses around 100 firefighters. Blunders continue to take the lives of our trusting heroes 150 years after Tennyson. Study how firefighters die and the same causes repeat relentlessly.

En route to a wildland fire, a firefighter rolls off the apparatus into a fiery ravine. Severely burned, he lives only a few days. A seatbelt would have prevented this from happening.

Over a 10-year period our nation lost 118 firefighters in arson-related blazes. When crime statistics are reported in New York, arson is never listed, yet car thefts are.

Not long ago, New York City failed to provide bunker gear for firefighters. The terrible fire that killed my husband and two young firefighters finally sparked interest in addressing this need.

Following Sept. 11, FDNY canceled Fire Prevention Week. The department was overwhelmed, but the nation was focused on firefighters. It was the perfect stage for the best fire prevention program ever. Teach our communities if they want to keep a firefighter alive, do this: Install smoke detectors, clean up basements, check wiring, establish an exit plan. The tragedy should have been the platform to educate the public with lessons that would reverberate for years. More than 4,000 Americans will die this year, and it's another oversight.

The fire service has been stuck fighting its Crimean War for a long time: Cut prevention budgets; glorify valor and reward risk-taking with more medals; treat tradition as holy even if it is killing you. Yours but to do or die.

When racing legend Dale Earnhardt died, NASCAR officials took action. They didn't poll the young drivers to see if they wanted change; the leadership led. They acted professionally, creating the safest cab they could and making the depth of the fences deeper. They did not puff up their chests, feigning machismo. They did not say, “Would you like to be safer? Pretty please, could you find the resources we need?” Why, I ask, is a firefighter's life less deserving of that same leadership?

Nations fight wars differently than we did a long time ago. Today's generals wouldn't last long if they decided to refight the Crimean War. They think and adjust, methodical in their attack. No cost is too high in providing the best equipment. Troop safety is a value to be prized. Soldiers are as brave as ever but the generals realize each soldier's life is precious. New thinking in the fire service is long overdue.

This is an historic moment. Soon young children will be returning to school throughout America. If the teacher asked what they would like to be someday, many would unhestitantly say “firefighter.” Begin taking action that will protect the lives of those future firefighters.

This is a holy moment, too. We are called by something deep inside to want to make a difference. We must rethink this dangerous job of firefighting. We must find ways to circumvent the old ways and old bureaucracies that see a death as an inevitable part of this job. We here can find the courage to say, “Enough.”

Tennyson wrote a sad poem. Indeed, it is a rousing tribute to the men who obeyed, trustingly riding to their death. Yet it is more than that. It is a call to question incompetent leadership and a challenge to those who follow blindly. It still rings true for the 100 firefighters that die each year in America. They die trusting — trusting their leaders, their fire departments, their elected officials, their unions, indeed their own invincibility.

Haven't we suffered enough to question charging into the mouth of hell? Are our heads so afraid of change that it has stunted our hearts? Let's challenge the fire service to have zero tolerance for a line-of-duty death. It's time to question. No firefighter should die doing this job in America.

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Vina Drennan is the widow of FDNY Capt. John Drennan, who died in 1994 from extensive burn injuries he suffered from fighting a fire in Manhattan. She served on the America at Risk Commission, appointed by then-FEMA Director James Lee Witt in 1999. Since 1995, Drennan has worked with the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and recently was given a seat on the board of directors. In 1997 she was presented with the St. Barnabas Burn Foundation Humanitarian Award. She served on a New York State Task Force appointed that developed a teacher training curriculum for fire safety to be implemented in the school system. She has represented the National Sprinkler Association in testifying for legislation that would bring sprinkler systems to college dormitories. Since Sept. 11, Drennan has been on the advisory board of the Silver Shield to assist some of the families with their loss.