"We hold these truths to be self-evident...

... that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

We all know these words, written 234 years ago by Thomas Jefferson.  They defined a nation and a culture as a collection of Colonies made the decision to assert their right to Independence.  That we are all equal is a core concept of the American concept. In many ways that defining sense of equality is why the American Fire Service has been accused of being aggressive, occasionally to the point of being "unsafe".

I sat at my in-law's house for Christmas day and the conversation turned to the deaths of Chicago Firefighters Cory Ankum and Ed Stringer. Someone posed the question, "What do you think happened."  My father-in-law made the statement, "They shouldn't have gone in there," based on the fact that it was a vacant building.  My wife, true to form, rose to the challenge, "That's what we have firemen for." That conversation and a piece posted on Fire Engineering's website got me think more about why we find ourselves once again in the, "To search or not to search," debate.

I got out of my Truck this morning and Mr. Jefferson's words ran through my head, "We hold these truths to be self evident..."

This is the United States.  We believe in EQUALITY (even if we fall short of the goal at times) and we believe in "the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."  THAT IS WHY WE SEARCH.  The day we start writing off a building and the occupants inside because WE might get hurt is the day we have stopped being useful to the community we serve.  I would say it's the day we start ignoring what the core ethos of being an American is all about.  (To my international readers I don't know if you are facing all of the same issues that we are about this topic right now, and I don't mean to exclude your culture, but I am after all an American).

We search because it is the American thing to do.  If there is any likelihood that there might be someone in the building we search.  The homeless squatter's life has just as much worth to the firefighter as does the person living in a decrepit tenement, or the person living in the wealthiest of areas.  Sometimes we will search a room that has very little chance of being tenable because someone has said, "My child is in there!"  Sometimes we search the abandoned building because we know the area is a haven for squatters.  Sometimes we search because something just feels, "wrong" about the situation.  Really though, we search because it is our Duty.

We search because it is the American way.  We search because everyone is our neighbor even if we wouldn't have them into our homes for dinner.  We search because we believe that EVERYONE'S life has value and that it is our voluntary accepted DUTY to go the distance and protect those lives. If you do not want to risk your life for your neighbors please turn in your badge, your pager, your gear, and your self-proclaimed title of "hero".   No one put a gun to your head and said, "You will be a firefighter!"  You CHOOSE to do this job each and every day and you can choose not to if you feel it is too risky.  Please, please though, do not do a disservice to those of us who believe it is our duty to protect our neighbors and say that the fire service should change.  Own this job, own the risks, TRAIN EVERYDAY to minimize the risk by being prepared.

If you find yourself at Ed Stringer's wake tomorrow I'll be there.  I'll be at 115 Bourbon Street  to hoist a pint afterward and toast our Brothers.  Maybe I'll see you there.  Have a happy new year.