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The Fire Departmet Doesn’t Need More Bosses — It Needs Leaders

“Company Killer.”

That’s what we call them.

The officer who poisons a crew. The one who kills morale, breeds resentment, and makes everyone around them worse at their job.

Not with criminal incompetence. But with unchecked ego. Laziness. Passive aggression. Insecurity. Or the most dangerous of all — apathy.

The fire service is full of them.

And the scary thing is — most of them don’t even know it.

We’ve created a generation of titled leaders who haven’t earned respect.

Some got promoted too early. Others got lost in the system. A few think they’re leading just because they’re yelling.

But leadership — real leadership — is deeper than command presence and posturing. It’s a character game.

You spend more time in the office than with the crew.
You correct without coaching. Discipline without development.
You avoid tough conversations until they explode — or worse, you gossip instead of confront.
You’ve stopped training. Stopped learning. Stopped giving a damn.
You've lost contact with tradition and culture, or worse, never saw the value in it at all

If any of that hits home — good. You’ve still got time to turn it around.

We don’t need more clipboards and checklists. We don’t need more swagger and slogans.

We need leaders who give a damn.

Leaders who know their people. Who sharpen them. Who show up every day with the quiet conviction to do it right.

You’re shaping the next generation. You’re building — or destroying — trust in the role.

And if you’re not careful, you’ll become the reason good firefighters check out… or leave altogether.

The fire service doesn’t need more bosses.
It needs leaders.

Want more hard-hitting firehouse wisdom?
Return to The Log Book.