The fire service has always been a bastion of tremendous moral strength not only for its members but for the communities they serve. Embodying some of humanity's most noble qualities, firefighters throughout the years have provided selfless service and risked their lives and lost their lives in defense of their neighbors, their communities, and their oaths. Almost universally, you can find stories of incredible kindness and of unparalleled devotion and goodness in every fire service history. So it comes to us as a shock when we see behavior that goes directly against our moral sense.
The question becomes then, Are these the random acts of a few bad people, bad apples, or are they more indicative of a problem within that system? Both answers are correct in certain circumstances. The fire service knows that there are bad people, evil people, people who have no sense of right or wrong, of good or bad, or of just or unjust behavior. But how do we explain acts by more than one firefighter that defy our moral sense, assault our dignity, and besmirch the good name of the fire service?
We have seen some awful behavior recently: several firefighters getting involved with prostitution in the firehouse; an entire crew participating in sexually abusing mentally disadvantaged people; firefighters engaging in drinking while on duty, resulting in horrific accidents; multiple crews—12 firefighters—destroying and defiling a station over a transfer.
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