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12 September 2025
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Featured FRI Magazine article: Culture of the emergency services by Wayne Bailey
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https://www.frimedia.org/uploads/1/2/2/7/122743954/fri_vol_3_no_8.pdf
This week’s featured Fire and Rescue International magazine article is: Culture of the emergency services written by Wayne Bailey (FRI Vol 3 no 8). We will be sharing more technical/research/tactical articles from Fire and Rescue International magazine on a weekly basis with our readers to assist in technology transfer. This will hopefully create an increased awareness, providing you with hands-on advice and guidance. All our magazines are available free of charge in PDF format on our website and online at ISSUU. We also provide all technical articles as a free download in our article archive on our website.
Culture of the emergency services
By Wayne Bailey
Famous quotes heard in the fire service. When you read them, think of the culture where you work and respond as a fire fighter;
When I looked up the word culture, one definition was, “Development or improvement of the mind by training and education.” In the fire service, this is so true. Your training has just begun. Fire fighter I, II and hazardous material classes are the bases for your training. To enhance this training, higher education in a degree is a must.
Another definition using culture as a verb in the biology field said, “Maintain (tissue cells, bacteria, etc) in conditions suitable for growth.” I take this to mean you got to keep your brain and heart in a good condition to grow as a fire fighter and as a leader.
I began my service in emergency services in 1975 as a junior. I was inspired to join as my department due to my dad’s involvement. The culture that my dad had started helps me to continue his legacy through me today.
If there was a party at someone’s house, guess what, we didn’t drink because we didn’t want to miss the BIG call. Back then, if you showed up on a call with alcohol on your breath, you were kicked off. How could life go on if I wasn’t able to be running calls with emergency service family?
We were there for our family. We celebrated births by smoking cigars handed out by the new proud dad; we were in each other’s weddings and we carried them to the grave as pallbearers.
Part of my emergency service culture growing up was either chewing or smoking tobacco. I was encouraged to take a chew, mix it with chewing gum. Since then, I don’t smoke or chew or go with girls that do.
There was smoking allowed in the meeting room on the second Tuesdays. Sometimes it was so bad, you could barely see the chief speaking. You would hear people coughing that were non-smokers. Can you imagine? I remember one lady. We’ll call her Miss Edna. She smoked Moore cigarettes. She was about 100 years old and come to think about, she was probably my age. She would never take out the cigarette out of her mouth. She would walk around with an ash about three inches long and it would fall on her shirt. She used to make a couple cough sounds and use her little finger to wipe the ashes off her shirt and say these things are going to kill me one day. She was right.
In later years, the term ‘smoke break’ come into play and everyone went outside to smoke. We had a butt can outside the door. You never threw a cigarette butt on the ground unless you field dressed it. Anyone ever heard this term?
How did the culture change about smoking at the fire house?
It had to start at the top. The chief had to be the example. He had to put his foot down, made an unwritten policy to stop smoking in the meetings and take it into the truck bays. Next, it was out of the building all together and outside on the sidewalk. Next it was done away with all together on the property. Anyone know of this policy anywhere else like this? For culture change to be made, sometimes you have to crawl, walk before you run.
Second, the change has to make sense for people to embrace it. We learned back then that second hand cigarette was dangerous to one’s health. The change was not overnight. There was resistance. There was ‘it’s my right to smoke if I want to’. Anytime changes are going to be made, it takes time.
In the end, when you make culture changes, there has to be purpose. The why that makes you cry. Sorry to say, sometimes it takes a death of a fire fighter before change is made and accepted. Circumstances like when a fire fighter gets killed in a roll over and he or she wasn’t wearing their seat belt. What culture change is likely to take place at the next meeting?
Going into a structure without proper gear and having to be pulled out by a RIT team. Receiving unnecessary burns due to the lack of putting your equipment on correctly due to being in a hurry. What’s likely to change?
To be successful with cultural change, you have to accept it and that takes time. We’re still resisting the use of seat belts for whatever reason.
Before I close, I want to ask you again, What is your why that makes you cry? Think about it. If it’s just for the money, you will never last in this profession.
For me, it’s the brotherhood. After today, you can walk in any fire house and say you’re a fire fighter and you will be welcomed in and even offered dinner if it’s meal time.
We touch lives every day. We will respond to someone’s worst nightmare and assist them or their loved one in bringing a smile or relief that help is there. Just remember, who else are they going to call? There is no 912 number to call.
Finding a lost child or loved one in the forest and bringing them back to their loved ones alive and well. That’s the why that make me cry to do this job.
Extricating a patient from a car that looks like no one could ever survive and to your surprise, they are still alive and due to you and your fellow fire fighter’s efforts, the person is transported to the hospital where they make a full recovery.
If ever in need for anything, I can call my fire service family for help. This reminds me of a story of Joe McKenna. He was a young husband, semi-professional basketball player and fire fighter for FDNY in 1938. He was off one day but he loved the fire service so much, he was hanging out at the fire house. Sound familiar? While he was there, he was polishing the brass pole and ornaments. While polishing a nozzle, he pulled a roll of hose on top of his shoulder by accident. A couple of days later, he started feeling pain in his shoulder and was running a fever. A day or so later, his wife hailed a cab and took him to the hospital. There the nurses and doctors found he had a blood infection. This was three years prior to the introduction to penicillin. The order given for fire fighter McKenna to stay alive was a blood transfusion. It was the hopes of the hospital that this effort would dilate his blood with other blood donors. Guess where the blood came from need to keep him alive. Fire fighters from his fire house and other houses lined up out the door to donate blood to help a brother.
I bet you can think of dozens of other ways the brotherhood has come to the aid of one of their own. If not, you will have the opportunity.
In closing, What if everyone had the same gifts? How stagnate would we get? I encourage you to find your gifts and focus on them.
Remember TEAMWORK...
Coming together is a beginning...
Keeping together is progress...
Working together is success.
This week’s featured Fire and Rescue International magazine article is: Culture of the emergency services written by Wayne Bailey (FRI Vol 3 no 8). We will be sharing more technical/research/tactical articles from Fire and Rescue International magazine on a weekly basis with our readers to assist in technology transfer. This will hopefully create an increased awareness, providing you with hands-on advice and guidance. All our magazines are available free of charge in PDF format on our website and online at ISSUU. We also provide all technical articles as a free download in our article archive on our website.
Culture of the emergency services
By Wayne Bailey
Famous quotes heard in the fire service. When you read them, think of the culture where you work and respond as a fire fighter;
- “When working at a new house for the first time, shut-up, work hard and pay attention. I promise that everyone is paying attention to you.”
- “For every run: Goal #1 – Everyone goes home safe Goal #2 – Don’t end up on YouTube.”
- "The goal of education is understanding; the goal of training is performance."
- “When you make a mistake, there are only three things you should do about it: admit it, learn from it and don't repeat it. I often say, crow is easier to eat while still warm.”
- "SAFETY has many tools but THINKING is the handle of them all!"
- Senior statement; “I've been on the job since you were in diapers. Probie's response; I'll still be on this job and you'll be back in diapers.”
When I looked up the word culture, one definition was, “Development or improvement of the mind by training and education.” In the fire service, this is so true. Your training has just begun. Fire fighter I, II and hazardous material classes are the bases for your training. To enhance this training, higher education in a degree is a must.
Another definition using culture as a verb in the biology field said, “Maintain (tissue cells, bacteria, etc) in conditions suitable for growth.” I take this to mean you got to keep your brain and heart in a good condition to grow as a fire fighter and as a leader.
I began my service in emergency services in 1975 as a junior. I was inspired to join as my department due to my dad’s involvement. The culture that my dad had started helps me to continue his legacy through me today.
If there was a party at someone’s house, guess what, we didn’t drink because we didn’t want to miss the BIG call. Back then, if you showed up on a call with alcohol on your breath, you were kicked off. How could life go on if I wasn’t able to be running calls with emergency service family?
We were there for our family. We celebrated births by smoking cigars handed out by the new proud dad; we were in each other’s weddings and we carried them to the grave as pallbearers.
Part of my emergency service culture growing up was either chewing or smoking tobacco. I was encouraged to take a chew, mix it with chewing gum. Since then, I don’t smoke or chew or go with girls that do.
There was smoking allowed in the meeting room on the second Tuesdays. Sometimes it was so bad, you could barely see the chief speaking. You would hear people coughing that were non-smokers. Can you imagine? I remember one lady. We’ll call her Miss Edna. She smoked Moore cigarettes. She was about 100 years old and come to think about, she was probably my age. She would never take out the cigarette out of her mouth. She would walk around with an ash about three inches long and it would fall on her shirt. She used to make a couple cough sounds and use her little finger to wipe the ashes off her shirt and say these things are going to kill me one day. She was right.
In later years, the term ‘smoke break’ come into play and everyone went outside to smoke. We had a butt can outside the door. You never threw a cigarette butt on the ground unless you field dressed it. Anyone ever heard this term?
How did the culture change about smoking at the fire house?
It had to start at the top. The chief had to be the example. He had to put his foot down, made an unwritten policy to stop smoking in the meetings and take it into the truck bays. Next, it was out of the building all together and outside on the sidewalk. Next it was done away with all together on the property. Anyone know of this policy anywhere else like this? For culture change to be made, sometimes you have to crawl, walk before you run.
Second, the change has to make sense for people to embrace it. We learned back then that second hand cigarette was dangerous to one’s health. The change was not overnight. There was resistance. There was ‘it’s my right to smoke if I want to’. Anytime changes are going to be made, it takes time.
In the end, when you make culture changes, there has to be purpose. The why that makes you cry. Sorry to say, sometimes it takes a death of a fire fighter before change is made and accepted. Circumstances like when a fire fighter gets killed in a roll over and he or she wasn’t wearing their seat belt. What culture change is likely to take place at the next meeting?
Going into a structure without proper gear and having to be pulled out by a RIT team. Receiving unnecessary burns due to the lack of putting your equipment on correctly due to being in a hurry. What’s likely to change?
To be successful with cultural change, you have to accept it and that takes time. We’re still resisting the use of seat belts for whatever reason.
Before I close, I want to ask you again, What is your why that makes you cry? Think about it. If it’s just for the money, you will never last in this profession.
For me, it’s the brotherhood. After today, you can walk in any fire house and say you’re a fire fighter and you will be welcomed in and even offered dinner if it’s meal time.
We touch lives every day. We will respond to someone’s worst nightmare and assist them or their loved one in bringing a smile or relief that help is there. Just remember, who else are they going to call? There is no 912 number to call.
Finding a lost child or loved one in the forest and bringing them back to their loved ones alive and well. That’s the why that make me cry to do this job.
Extricating a patient from a car that looks like no one could ever survive and to your surprise, they are still alive and due to you and your fellow fire fighter’s efforts, the person is transported to the hospital where they make a full recovery.
If ever in need for anything, I can call my fire service family for help. This reminds me of a story of Joe McKenna. He was a young husband, semi-professional basketball player and fire fighter for FDNY in 1938. He was off one day but he loved the fire service so much, he was hanging out at the fire house. Sound familiar? While he was there, he was polishing the brass pole and ornaments. While polishing a nozzle, he pulled a roll of hose on top of his shoulder by accident. A couple of days later, he started feeling pain in his shoulder and was running a fever. A day or so later, his wife hailed a cab and took him to the hospital. There the nurses and doctors found he had a blood infection. This was three years prior to the introduction to penicillin. The order given for fire fighter McKenna to stay alive was a blood transfusion. It was the hopes of the hospital that this effort would dilate his blood with other blood donors. Guess where the blood came from need to keep him alive. Fire fighters from his fire house and other houses lined up out the door to donate blood to help a brother.
I bet you can think of dozens of other ways the brotherhood has come to the aid of one of their own. If not, you will have the opportunity.
In closing, What if everyone had the same gifts? How stagnate would we get? I encourage you to find your gifts and focus on them.
Remember TEAMWORK...
Coming together is a beginning...
Keeping together is progress...
Working together is success.