SEXUAL HARASSMENT
Being an emergency responder involves taking risks, and we are taught to continually monitor conditions and analyze specific situations based on a risk-vs.-benefit ratio. We do this on the foreground by having teams work in unison under a single command system. At most fire scenes, a chief officer sets up a command post to coordinate activities and keep track of the resources. The fire attack group advances the hoseline, assesses tininterior, and extinguishes the fire while the ventilation group performs the necessary tasks to alleviate the pent-up heat and gases The key to a safe and successful operation is groups working together. Cooperation, communication, and teamwork are vital for achieving our mission.
This same foreground approach also should be used with regard to management-related risks —such as those associated with sexual harassment. This problem threatens the cohesiveness of a group by dividing its membership. For this reason, fire executives, company officers, and firefighters must understand the pragmatic and legal ramifications of their personal conduct before lives are ruined, a department’s reputation is tarnished, or an organization is left in chaos after battling discrimination charges.
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