Firefighter Professionalism and Citizen Expectations

Maintaining composure and a professional attitude are key to keeping the public’s trust

Indianapolis firefighters with tools and supply line — Firefighters at the scene of an apartment fire in Indianapolis. Photo courtesy of Rita Reith, Indianapolis (IN) Fire Department.

I was at hot yoga with my husband the other day…just hear me out, it applies to firefighting, I promise. I have had multiple injuries. I’m middle aged. Things hurt. It’s 104° in the room. I am uncomfortable to say the least, but I push through—safely of course. After class my husband said: “You looked good, like it was so easy. Peaceful even.” I told him it wasn’t easy. I was shaking. I even had to slow down once because I got a little dizzy. He said he never would have known. My face looked peaceful and I looked confident and sure. I told him I learned how to keep my face and body under control in the fire department. I had to “suck it up, buttercup.” There’s no way I was going to “break” in a yoga class now. I was making a joke, but he didn’t think it was funny. He said people shouldn’t have to hide how they feel physically. I disagreed. There are reasons firefighters need to have physical and emotional composure in stressful situations; ultimately, this is called professionalism.

Before I go any further, I want to be clear about a few things: I am not in any way suggesting people hide or compartmentalize their feelings to an extent that mental health issues result. Mental health in public safety is a serious issue and one that should not be taken lightly. Firefighters and potential firefighters should recognize this job will take a mental and physical toll and always take advantage of the resources available to build resilience and receive care as needed. There is no shame in asking for help or in accepting help when someone recognizes you may need it. I am also not suggesting that people work while injured, do not report injuries or pain, or “suffer in silence.” All injuries need to be reported. Health conditions need to be treated. Healing can be inconvenient and it can take time. Follow the proper administrative guidelines to keep yourself safe and healthy and see your primary care physician regularly. And wash your personal protective equipment (PPE)!

Do We Need to Have it All Together?

It is important to show the public firefighters are capable of responsibly caring for them and their property. They need to believe we know what we are doing—hopefully we do know what we are doing—but if we look nervous or are very unsure, they will not have confidence in our abilities. We could be experts in the field, in peak physical condition, but if we show up to a house to extinguish a fire and are hesitant about what to do and the citizens see this, they will not believe we can solve their problem. They will not feel safe with us. How do we make them feel safe? By confidently making the best decisions we can based on the information we have; remaining physically composed (no shaking, looks of panic or fear, backing away from the work that needs to be done); and then successfully completing the necessary tasks that solve their problem. This is called professionalism.

If you are new to the field or are considering firefighting as a career choice, it is important to recognize the level of trust that the public has in firefighters. Citizens literally run out of their houses and hand us their sick children without saying a word to us first. There is no verification of identity; no verification of skills; they trust and believe we can solve their problem—no matter what it is. We cannot receive that trust, those sick children, with looks of dread, panic, or fear. We cannot run away—even if everything in our bodies is saying: “Please, don’t hand her to me.” Our job is to accept and to perform. We learn to soothe others while we may be raging on the inside. We learn to let our training take over, remain composed, and wait until we are out of sight of the citizens to cut-up, lay down, cry, or eat ice cream.

Sometimes it is hard to wait. When there are a lot of firefighters on a scene, we can get pretty chatty and the jokes start flying. The family of the deceased person in the house who we just did CPR on is not laughing. This behavior is not professional. It is also not professional to come out of a structure fire, throw off all of your gear, and lay flat on your back in full view of the public—unless you are having a medical emergency. It may be exactly what you feel like doing after going through a couple of air bottles in a hot house, but take the extra steps to the rehab area before you fully doff—take off—your gear. This is a much more professional way to go about it.

How Do I Learn Composure?

Some people are naturally gifted with composure. Maybe they learned it at home. Maybe they were born naturally calm and confident. Good for them! They can focus their energies on improving in other areas. Most of us will learn how to improve our composure and professionalism in the fire academy, on incident scenes, and in the station.

The fire academy places students in physically stressful situations to teach them how to control themselves. Yes, it is about learning skills, but is possible to learn some skills outside of a physically stressful environment. The live fire, Mayday awareness, and similar practical evolutions in the fire academy teach students they are stronger than they think they are and have more “gas in the tank” than they ever thought possible. These evolutions can build confidence and exhaust you at the same time. When faced with similar situations after academy graduation, such as performing overhaul in an IDLH environment for an extended time, firefighters can rely on their training and not give in to the first wave of “I’m done,” because they know they have more to give.

Firefighters learn composure and professionalism on the fire scene. This can happen through trial and error. It can happen through interacting with citizens and finding out what works well and what doesn’t. It takes insight to learn in this manner. However, most firefighters are interested in serving the community to the best of their ability so they pay attention to what happens on incident scenes and their professionalism improves over time. Composure and professionalism can also be learned as a part of department or station culture. How does everyone else behave on a scene? Good or bad, you will likely behave the same way. Is there a strong expectation for a chain of command with all firefighters having a command presence toward the public or does everyone do their own thing? The ability to show a unified front at an incident where everyone is working calmly and professionally together, is the strongest showing of professionalism.

If you are considering this career or are new to the fire service, don’t underestimate the power of professionalism and composure in your interactions with the public. As firefighters we have already earned their trust; it is our responsibility to keep it.

Mandy George is a retired lieutenant in the Chesapeake (VA) Fire Department. She has a master’s degree in emergency and disaster management, a master’s degree in professional writing, and an associate’s degree in emergency medical services. She is also a Nationally Registered Paramedic (NRP) and a Virginia Office of Emergency Medical Services (VAOEMS) Education Coordinator.