While positive initiation traditions can serve as building blocks to camaraderie, trust and teamwork in the fire service, there have been hazing rituals that have crossed the line and have become humiliating, destructive and serve to target certain individuals. These rituals have become an increasing area of concern in the fire service.
From the time firefighters enter into service, they are trained in the cultural norms of duty, pride, honor and tradition. Duty refers to the expectation to perform work as part of a team, as challenging as it may be. Firefighters are taught the history of the fire service and to have pride in choosing one of the noblest of professions. They are groomed to the long-established beliefs, legends, traditions and customs, many of which come from chivalrous and military environments. Where these ideals represent best practices and serve to instill appreciation, duty/pride/honor/tradition represent the esprit de corps of the fire service. Hazing and assault, however, stand in stark contrast to the fire service core values. When duty/pride/honor/tradition are used as ways to justify hazing protocols, they corrupt the core principles of dignity and respect and serve as a barrier to a culture of safety in the fire service.
Horseplay or bullying?
In the firehouse, the probationary year serves to acculturate new firefighters into the way work is performed, demonstrates their humility, tests their resolve, and earns their place among the ranks. Through enduring rigorous standards and exhibiting a willingness to learn, probies prove their mettle to the seasoned firehouse crew to achieve a mutual trust among the ranks—aspects of the job that are essential in times of emergency response.
Common teasing and pranks are well-known social aspects of the culture of the fire service symbolizing that inclusion. Rough and boisterous activities, frequently referred to as “horseplay,” are also experienced as mutual bonding behaviors among firefighters. Initiations have long served to demonstrate that probies are considered to have become privileged members of an inside group, and they provide a ceremonial demarcation of crossing over into the next stage of work and identity—that of firefighter. Increasingly though, onboarding behaviors appear to venture well beyond the traditional aspects of initiation and fellowship into the realms of hazing and sexual assault, and involve not only peers, but leadership as well.
Hazing is described broadly as an activity, situation or action that an individual must tolerate in order to become part of a group. It encompasses any activity expected of someone joining a group that serves to humiliate, degrade, abuse or endanger, regardless of a person’s willingness to participate.1 Social scientists theorize that hazing has persisted because it generates group solidarity, is an expression of dominance, and allows for the selection of committed group members.2 Scientists have also long asked what motivates people to haze and, likewise, what motivates people not to report hazing?
A fine line
One does not need to look far beyond recent news headlines to find negative examples of the pervasive nature of hazing associated with the fire service: cockroaches placed in lockers, genital striping and even forced sodomy. Investigations frequently reveal that certain hazing rituals have persisted over time, serving to test compliance to adherence to the firehouse hierarchy, and that many firefighters will endure these tests and remain silent to prove their loyalty.
As part of multi-year research into workplace bullying in the fire service, our collaborative research team—the Center for Fire, Rescue and EMS Health Research at the National Development and Research Institutes and the Illinois Fire Service Institute—has been conducting focus group studies of recruits in various parts of the country to investigate these issues. Initial feedback reveals a general consensus among present-day recruits we have interviewed; namely they believe initiations represent positive traditions but agree there can be confusion when it comes to recognizing the behaviors that constitute becoming part of the crew versus behaviors that constitute hazing.
When asked what they thought hazing meant, the recruits we interviewed, ranging in age from 22–37 years old, generally agree that it can happen in the probationary year—the year in which they will demonstrate their ability to endure complications to learn their place in the firehouse, thus the year they develop trust and understanding among the crew. Along with this concept, recruits also note:
- “You could call your year of probation harassment.”
- “You have to have a thick skin, and this is how you prove you can develop it.”
- “You go through this so they [firehouse crew] will give you their knowledge.”
When asked if they think they will be hazed, the recruits have suggested that the meaning of hazing can be arbitrary. In response to the question, recruits generally responded that they “hoped” they would be hazed, as it means the veterans in the firehouse “trust them enough and like them enough” to do so. They also suggested that the more disgusting or funny the hazing, the more trust they have in you.
Conversely, when asked what they would do if they felt they were being hazed or saw another recruit being hazed, the recruits said they generally felt that they would feel empowered to say something or end it. They responded that they would feel it was their duty to speak up and stop it and, if necessary, report the behavior up the chain of command. Yet, when reminded of their previous statements that hazing is “something they must endure,” the recruits acknowledged this point:
- “Well, yeah, that’s just the way it is.”
- “If we can’t handle it, then we can’t handle the real stuff, it’s a test.”
- “There are people who take it too far.”
We shared sexual assault scenarios from recent news-making hazing lawsuits with the recruits. Each scenario we shared involved male-on-male hazing offenses, as they make up the majority of specifically reported hazing transgressions. Responding to these scenarios, recruits stated: “It’s kind of messed up,” but adding, “but if they include you in non-traditional [forms of hazing], it means they like you enough.” Another recruit said, “Guys do some weird stuff, stuff both parties may think is funny, but you would not want it in the public eye.” And one even went so far as to say, “Technically, you can call it sexual assault, but it’s hilarious.”
Concluding thoughts
Is hazing in the eye of the beholder? The pervasiveness of destructive hazing behaviors in the firehouse is presently unknown, as the targets of these behaviors frequently choose to remain silent in order to prove their loyalty, or they may fail to differentiate hazing from the more positive rites of passage. It is unclear whether recruits will identify when a sought-after initiating rite of passage signaling inclusion turns into a brutal hazing situation, or what their attitudes toward the situation will be, and what choices they will make to correct hazing.
As we continue our research, one area of focus will be to continue to delve into where the culture of safety may become compromised between the time a recruit feels empowered to stop a harmful activity or speak up in the face of brutality and the time they become a firefighter who may concede to social pressure and firehouse obligations. We will also continue to focus on the question: How will we teach them to recognize the difference? To do so, we must make clear to victims of hazing that they do not simply need to get over it and develop a stronger backbone. Hazing is not merely, “Just a prank, bro.” The professionalism of firefighting, the traditions held with such esteem, and the resiliency of our firefighters demands that we no longer allow hazing as a way to maliciously dominate and demean the workforce. In doing so, we must first teach our recruits how to identify it.
1 Alfred University & Hoover, N.C. Initiation rites and athletics: A national survey of NCAA sports teams. 1999. Alfred University.
2 Cimino, A. “The evolution of hazing: Motivational mechanisms and the abuse of newcomers.” 2011. Journal of Cognition and Culture, 11(3-4), 241-267.
This work was funded by FEMA under the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program in collaboration with the National Development and Research Institutes “Bullying, Harassment & Resilience in the Fire Service” award (NDRI Grant #658).
