Indianapolis, IN (April 20, 2016) - In his welcoming remarks at this morning’s Opening Ceremonies, Fire Engineering Editor in Chief and FDIC Education Director Bobby Halton described a mosaic of the firefighter character that has sustained the fire service’s reputation for courage, honor, and civility. At the same time, Halton alerted the audience to the fact that forces in today’s society can work to undermine firefighter code and honor unless firefighters continue to value and uphold those attributes and practices: “For the fire service of today, it is a time of great discovery and of great debate, a time of tremendous advances and of troubling criticisms,” Halton said.
Character
There are various schools of thought about the origin of character, Halton explained. Some believe character is inherent in us at birth. This may be so; but, still, it is not too late, he asserted, citing the influence of parents and education: “Most agree that with training, with example, with exposure, and with habit, you can create ‘character.’ It is self-evident that how one conducts oneself in manners of honor, courage, and civility is dictated by one’s background and education as a gentleman or a gentlewoman.” The right mentoring, the right examples, and diligence, can help good men and good women to become great firefighters.”
And beyond that, added Halton, “We can imbue firefighters with heroic dreams.” He quoted Benjamin Disraeli: Nurture your minds with great thoughts; to believe in the heroic makes heroes.
This firefighter character, Halton said, should involve devotion to the mission, loyalty to our fellow firefighters, respect for authority, and a desire to reflect the highest moral ideal. That ideal for firefighters, the one that rises above all the other ideals is, "Honor Before All," Honor Ante Omnia: We will never under any circumstances leave anyone behind. Whether they are rich or poor, they are like us or different from us, they are mentally healthy or mentally ill, whether they contribute to society or live off the generosity of society, we leave no one behind.
High Standard Threatened
Noting that the fire service’s tradition of high standard is ‘continuously threatened,’ he repeated a warning issued almost 20 years ago by Fire Service sage Tom Brennan: We are losing our fire service. It is time to take it back. Although little has been done in response to this prediction, Halton said, it is not too late to act.
The answer to Tom Brennan’s clarion call, Halton said, has been with us since our inception. We are required to do what George Washington has directed us to do: Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair; the rest is in the hands of God. Raising that standard requires that we embody fairness, exemplify self-control, exhibit sympathy, and embrace duty.
Halton drove home his messages with riveting examples of military men and firefighters who displayed all these virtues under conditions of extreme duress. All involved leaving no one behind, Honor Above All, Honor Ante Omnia.
Mosaic of the Firefighter Character
What constitutes the firefighter character that will “get the fire service back” to where it should always be? Among the components Halton cited are the following:
• Charisma and representing all that is good, honest, and noble. ‘Adapting’ the statement of Kurt Vonnegut that the fire engine is a stirring symbol of man’s humanity to man, Halton noted that it is the firefighter that is a stirring symbol of man’s humanity to man. Trying to uphold this image leads to tremendous moral and ethical demands, said Halton.
Alluding to Thomas Hobbes’ view of the world as a place where every man is against every man, Halton said fire