We have all heard this phrase, but I wonder what does it truly mean to us. For me it is the core of being a firefighter and rising above the selfish mentality of what is in it for me. I've seen people in this service that are both dedicated and loyal to the mission. And I've also seen people that were loyal to themselves and themselves alone. It is imperitive that we stop and take a long look at ourselves and ask ourselves this question. What does the brotherhood mean to me?

As an officer and experienced firefighter I have came to a few conclusions. A true leader will measure his/her success by the success of those that he leads, and will take pride in his/her members success including training and promotion. If you are a Captain for intance and one of your crew works hard and eventually works through the ranks and becomes a battalion chief and your still a Captain, its ok you've done your job and you should celebrate their success. An leader will lead his firefighters into the battle and will stand for his guys even if it puts the heat on him. Right is Right. (Brotherhood)

An old saying I heard somewhere was if you find yourself in jail, then you should call your best friend to come bail you out, my thought is if they were truly your best friend they would be sitting next to you and telling you that the guy you hit would have kicked your butt if he had'nt been there. (Brotherhood)

When it comes to the mission, we do not have a choice wether or not we work together, the most knowledgeble firefighters I've known did not know it all, but what they did know was who to call. The fireservice is a vastly complicated and easily overwhelming job. Each incident has it's own set of challenges therefore to be efficient we must realize that each member from the newest to the oldest has imput in the situation, the incident commander/officer that refuses to listen to his firefighters and wings it on his/her own is destined to fail and probably get someone hurt. So with that said, having an open mind and asking for help and input is ultimately a given. Ask yourself this, who are the people you respect the most the one's that value your thoughts and opinions, or the one's that tell you what to think? So regardless of a person's level of training and experience. They are part of the game and should be respected and included regardless of their rank or role in the service. (Brotherhood)

While working a two story residential fire, I found myself trapped on the second floor after getting caught in a return air vent (vent that was open from the first floor to the second, found in older dwellings).
The fire was intensifying and was on the vurge of flashing over, my partner had air problems and had to bail through a second story window to the porch roof. When he realized I had not followed he jumped back into the room with limited air supply and pulled me free from the perdicament I had gotten into, diving back out to the porch roof just before the room flashed. I melted my shield and blistered my helmet, and was close to becoming a crispie critter, he made a choice and that choice was to risk it all to save a fellow firefighter. (Brotherhood)

In conclusion their are three circles in the fire service, those that like being called a firefighter, those that think their a firefighter, then those that are firefighters. That inner circle the one where you know the saying "you go, we go" is not just a movie quote, but truth. If we don't stand together, you will fall alone. So the next time your tearing another firefighter apart, or running another department into the ground. Remember one thing, The inner cirlce, those are the guys that will stand up for the mission and their brothers no matter what the situation, if you attack one of us you'll have to take on all of us. (Brotherhood)

So what is your definition of "The Brotherhood"? What circle are you in?