Four Ways To Eliminate Cancer In the Fire Service

You don’t have to be around the fire service long before you will find cancer in the fire service.

I am not talking about the cancer that affects our physical health.   I am talking about the toxic cancer that effects our moral. The mocking and hurtful things we say and do to each other and then think it’s ok.

We are called to serve.

We have been sworn to serve.

Our family, neighbors and anyone else in our communities expect us to serve and help them and we do. This is love for our neighbor.

If we get called to an emergency, we help and serve, black or white young or old, foreigner or citizen.  This is love for our neighbor. Yet the minute we get back to the firehouse, we will stab our own in the back, shun them or even discriminate against them.

Let’s rid the fire service of this cancer.  We each have a part to play.

 “Let us love, serve and care for one another so we are really treating each other like the brothers and sisters that we are called to be.” –  @_DavidJSoler 

Here Are 4 Ways To Love Our Brothers/Sisters In The Fire Service:

1- Respect Each Other’s Differences

We are not always going to agree on everything and that’s ok.  We just need to agree on holding ourselves accountable on the fire ground and in the fire house.  Everything else, we can respect the difference.

2- Have Boundaries

In our society, more and more of us have been in dysfunctional families and we do not realize what proper love is; and how to give and receive love. So if we then take those improper behaviors to the fire house and think this is a proper way to love each other, things get toxic.

We need to have physical and emotional boundaries.  We are living and working and even volunteering with people of differences.  We don’t always know what their childhood was like or what emotional scars or wounds other’s have. So error on the side of caution and don’t poke or prod people. Do not tease or harass each other because that is the beginning of cruelty. 

Where do you draw the line?

For some reason I hear all the time, we need “Thick Skin” in the fire service.  Why? So in the fire house, you can tear me apart emotionally and break me down, but on the fire ground you’re going to save my physical life?

That’s a brother? 

That’s a sister? 

I don’t think so. Love and respect their differences.  Build them up and encourage them.  That’s what a healthy family is.

3-  Be Kind

Hurt people in turn hurt people.  Let us be kind to each other. We can show how tough we really are by being kind.  Being kind all the time is tough.  We all have our insecurities and fears and when we let them get the best of us, our kindness is no where to be found.  Focus on being kind to each other and encourage each other.

4-  Appreciate

What we appreciate appreciates.  When we appreciate our crew, our leaders, our fellow brother and sister firefighter,  they get built up in love.  Let’s appreciate one another as a demonstration of our love for each other. I respect and appreciate you for reading this and sharing with others.  Keep up the good work.

See you in the comments below.