The fire service seems to be experiencing a state of contrast, contention and, at times, even conflict these days. At the center of that contention is a battle for the very fabric of who we are and why we exist. As the fire service seems to be creeping closer and closer to white collar business practices and continues to say “yes” to more diversified service models, many are left wondering what is happening to our identity and future as firefighters. With many on both sides of the aisle passionately declaring their positions on safety, incident priorities and risk management, it is important now more than ever that we take a real, honest look at what our citizens want and expect from us as the American fire service. We mustn’t base our decisions on anecdote, emotional vitriol, or feelings, but rather on real data, hard numbers, and a unified mission of saving those who cannot save themselves. 

This class examines the dichotomy of risk management and the subsequent impacts that the safety culture of the past two decades has had on the American fire service. The class will dissect the concepts of mission creep and normalization of deviance within our service. It will review and facilitate discussion on the current cultural divide pertaining to strategic, tactical and safety strategies being employed across the nation. It reviews extensive data, technical knowledge, and real world experiences to unwrap the many layers of the cultural battle happening amongst us in an effort to present sound, unemotional reasoning and create open, meaningful dialogue with the end goal being unity, mission readiness, and a return to our fundamental, blue-collar roots of service before self. Finally, it takes a hard look at the facts behind firefighter fatalities, and how to use current data to keep us centered on our mission of saving lives and property, not running scared from anecdotal myths and fire service folklore!