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Recently, I have noticed my social media feeds have been filled with posts about why it is wrong not to comply 100% with everything from uniform policies to performing tasks with variations from standard practice. At the same time, I am seeing other posts complaining about leadership, including micromanaging and abusive behavior towards individuals on a crew who, for whatever reason, the leader doesn’t like.
It may be because of a lack of recent fires (bad things happen when firefighters are bored), but the frequency and tone of these posts — brimming over with bravado and divisiveness — is concerning.
We assume too much — and it’s hurting us
I understand the perspective of each who contributed to these conversations and believe differences in perspective are healthy. It’s important to note many of these positions are assumptions based on broad generalities instead of addressing specific, factual circumstances. We’re assigning motives and making sweeping judgments over minor policy issues, and that’s a dangerous trend.
For example, I’ve seen posts asserting that just because you wear your hat backward around the station, you’re a slacker or troublemaker. Or just because someone in leadership addresses that issue, they’re a micromanaging tyrant. When we make every small conflict a cultural battle, we lose the ability to address real problems with clarity and credibility.
Let’s face it — the fire service doesn’t need more slackers, troublemakers or tyrants. It needs more doers, listeners and leaders who can engage in tough conversations without blowing everything up into an existential crisis.
When isolated and addressed appropriately, each event should not be an issue for the fire service. Top-down guidance or even discipline over minor policy violations should address the concern and then move on. Everyone who has posted must also agree that apathy, rogue behavior and poor leadership are all cancers that exist in our midst and must be removed to foster the best fire service possible.
The uniform isn’t the problem, but it might be a symptom
Please help me understand why wearing your uniform out of policy is a good thing when, as an organization, we are trying to put our best foot forward for the communities we serve. We are a uniformed service. That uniform means something — to the public, to our peers and to the fire service culture we claim to protect.
If we fail to comply with something as simple as a uniform policy, what else might we be willing to compromise on? I have witnessed many of these same individuals who take issue with how to wear a hat also choose not to wear their gear correctly, including waist and chin straps. When you treat minor things as inconsequential, you might be mishandling big things the same way without even realizing it.
The issue is not the hat. The issue is whether that person pays attention to detail, respects expectations and values the collective image we present to the public.
By the same token, power-hungry leaders are just as much the problem. I have personally witnessed officers who nit-pick little issues to feel important and look good for the chief so they can be promoted sooner (at the cost of their crew). This kind of behavior is abhorrent, but it’s just one of the many small leadership failures we see again and again in the fire service.
When I am grappling with my morals, attitude and trying to care about the job, dealing with toxic leadership sucks. But let’s be clear: One problem doesn’t excuse the other.
Each problem is toxic in its own right and shouldn’t be tolerated. Yet both issues continue to cause friction. Why? Because instead of providing solutions, we’re trading shots across social media, rattling sabers, thinking we are right and the other side is wrong. And that, my friends, is the real cancer.
Respect is the new tradition
Let’s stop making petty uniform compliance the hill to die on. Let’s stop worshipping at the altar of “We’ve always done it this way” or “I’m just keeping it real.” Instead, let’s focus on what matters: integrity, teamwork and shared purpose. Fire service culture is (or should be) all about results.
Be firefighters and officers. But do so respectfully and do your job correctly. Stop focusing on what makes us different and instead find what makes us great as a team. Because the people in your community don’t care about your station politics, your attitude about uniform policies, or how salty you are on your Instagram story.
They also don’t care about how important you are or how great a leader you think you are. Period.
All they know is that when they call 911, they are stuck with you — for better or worse. They expect a department that can operate like a well-oiled machine, a cohesive unit that works together to deliver the best response to their problem possible.
The public couldn’t care less about your drama. Most of the stuff we bicker about internally is absolutely meaningless to the public. They don’t care about the tattoos, the backwards hats or the chain of command battles. They care about one thing: results.
The call doesn’t care if you like your captain. The structure fire doesn’t wait while you debate nuances of compliance. The cardiac arrest patient doesn’t want your opinion on shift culture — they want you to save their life.
The sooner we realize that, the better we will all be.
The real thing is still worth protecting
Firefighting isn’t about winning culture wars. It’s about being reliable, present, and effective. Fire service culture is not about hats and hashtags. It’s about people who give a damn, do their jobs well and show up for one another.
Brothers and sisters in the fire service, we’ve been entrusted with a legacy that generations before us built on sacrifice, humility and excellence. Let’s not be the ones who let ego and division chip away at that.
So, wear the uniform right. Lead with respect, and don’t hesitate to call out bad leadership. But don’t turn small issues into identity wars. That’s not tradition — that’s dysfunction.
If we keep the real thing the real thing, our best days in the fire service are still ahead of us.
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