Firefighters are an amazing breed. Just walk into any firehouse kitchen, apparatus floor, or just about anywhere else a group of us congregate, and chances are you’ll immediately feel the stinging bite of the “sharks” as they turn their feeding frenzy toward you as the chum they crave. They banter and proceed to roast you because of your hair, clothes, actions, or anything else they care to (even though none are justifiable). They laugh, slap you on the back, and ultimately accept you into the group and continue to circle, waiting for their next prey. Most firehouses are the same.
Conversely, if you visit a neighboring firehouse, those same firefighters will warmly invite you in and generally treat you like a VIP. They’ll bring you a meal, offer you coffee, escort you to a sitting or study room to relax in, and they probably won’t allow you to lift a nonemergency finger. Man, like most relationship, this stuff is confusing!
Frightening Humor?
If you’re not “thin skinned” and learn not to take this chiding personally, you may learn to understand the family culture that firefighting (and some military) units require. As a company officer, we should recognize this common banter as a healthy coping mechanism-with limitations. As a matter of fact, there’s a psychological name for the way that emergency workers (firefighters, EMTs, police officers, etc.) deal with each other and the devastating situations we witness on a daily basis. Gallows humor allows us to treat serious or painful subject matter in a light and often satirical way.
For example, returning from a particularly gory and significant motor vehicle crash where a grotesque on-scene fatality occurred, members might be overheard asking each other: “Man, did you see that person’s head? It was squashed like a grape.” Obviously, to outsiders this would likely seem callous and cold. However, it is recognized as a legitimate coping mechanism that those who are never faced with life and death situations simply cannot fathom or understand. After all, it is not “normal” for one human being to see another human being torn to shreds.
Gallows humor assists firefighters and EMTs in dealing with the stressors of our job. Arguable, friendly banter and playful teasing may help us keep a positive outlook toward what we do and the challenges we face. It may also bind us and bring us closer together.
Or Medical breakthrough?
Keeping a positive attitude isn’t necessarily a medical breakthrough in firefighting. However, when people feel good about themselves and have a say in their daily lives (especially in the workplace), they tend to feel better. In turn, they ultimately perform better both individually and as part of a cohesive team. Having pride in what they do both on and off the emergency scene is important to firefighters.
Acknowledging those positive performances with genuine admiration every once in a while will help your members feel appreciated. Use caution though: Do not make the mistake of giving false praise simply for praise’s sake. For example, returning from a car fire in the cab of my ladder truck recently, I noticed and mentioned to my driver how neatly packed the hosebed was on the engine we were following. Rather than letting that impression die right there, on return to the firehouse I also mentioned it to the firefighters and officer of the engine. That shows real company pride, I said; I’d like to think that they were both humbled and at the same time proud that someone took notice of the care they took to pack that hosebed (on a spare engine, no less). I bet the other surrounding companies took notice as well!
Knowing the Difference
The challenge for the company officer is to recognize the relatively healthy attributes of gallows humor and playful banter vs. the damaging cutting down of individuals (particularly by a group) that can have devastating results to both individual firefighters and entire firefighting teams. Company officers must not allow divisiveness to take hold in our climate of dependency on each other. Sometimes human personality conflicts are just that, natural traits where some humans simply do not get along through no fault of their own. In those instances, they must overcome the natural aversion to one another, accept it for what it is, and be grown up enough to be able to work together professionally and efficiently (then go off to their separate corners again). As a company officer, recognizing personality conflicts as opposed to the occasional unhappiness issues that sometimes occur between members is key to resolving conflicts between members.
Let’s say one member is complaining about another member not cleaning the tools on the apparatus. You may have to first find out if there is a realistic and legitimate gripe that the one member has against the other or if there is no legitimate reason for the griping. If the gripe is legitimate, you may be able to validate the one member’s concern and then address the issue of noncompliance with the other. However, what if the aforementioned gripe is not legitimate? You may have to point out to the griper that if the other member wasn’t told he was expected to clean the tools, then that is not a legitimate reason to be upset.
In any event, as the company officer, you may need to play detective, lawyer, and perhaps judge in pointing out the real reason for the conflict and suggesting an ultimate conclusion.
Staying the Course
On the other hand, showing favoritism toward one particular member or group consistently, even in light of their inevitable and occasional missteps, can also get the company officer in trouble. I had one particular member who was viewed by the other members in the firehouse as not pulling his own weight at both routine chores and at emergencies. Unfortunately, one of the higher-ranking officers at the time saw this person as not being able to do anything wrong. When the members and subsequently officers began bringing this member’s shortcomings to the ranking officer, he blew them off and protected the offending member. Eventually, the ranking officer lost trust from the other members because he backed the offending firefighter even after legitimate examples of the firefighter’s lack of skills and poor attitude were provided.
In light of the overwhelming examples and more frequent occurrences of the offenses, eventually the ranking officer was forced to confront the member he had been protecting for so long. This was long after the ranking officer had lost favor of the majority of officers and members under his command, which he may never fully get back. Had he not protected his “friend” and allowed him to take the lumps that he deserved, there would have been much less repair work to be done in the aftermath of the storm.
Line Dancing
A difficult and fine line that all fire officers must walk involves allowing playfulness that can be constructive but preventing it from going beyond what is reasonable. Stopping inappropriate behavior immediately is a must. Discrimination and harassment of any form are good examples. Although there is some truth to single human beings needing to be “broken down” (or reasonably challenged) so that they can ultimately be “built up,” that job is usually reserved for probationary/recruit academies or senior firefighter/training officers. Recognizing that fine line before it is behind you is a must for company officers and an obligation both professionally and legally that must be recognized and accepted.
Failing to recognize and accept that responsibility may result in you finding yourself cold and alone at the end of the proverbial plank.
