By Captain (Ret.) Andrew Mejia
“The ideas in this series weren’t developed in a classroom. They were shaped over more than three decades as a firefighter, truck captain, academy instructor, football coach, and student of leadership and the craft. They represent lessons learned through successes, failures, mentors, firefighters, and thousands of hours spent developing people. My hope is that they challenge you to reflect on your own journey and encourage you to leave this profession stronger than you found it.” Andrew Mejia
We’ve Forgotten What Professionalism Really Means
“Professionalism is not a title, rank or something you claim. It’s something you prove. It’s what you do when no one is watching. It is the daily commitment to excellence, integrity, and service that earns the trust of your crew and the community.“
After more than three decades in the fire service and as a fire academy instructor, one question continues to surface in my mind: Have we forgotten what it really means to be a professional firefighter?
That may sound like a harsh question, but it’s an honest one.
Since retiring, I’ve spent countless hours reading fire service books, articles, leadership discussions, and social media conversations. While many are outstanding, others leave me wondering whether we’ve lost sight of our mission. Too often, I find myself asking whether we’re debating the things that truly matter or simply the things that are easiest to argue about. Our focus should be creating a culture where decisions are driven not by ego or opinion, but by what is right for the organization, the firefighter, and the community we serve.
We’ve become very good at discussing tactics, equipment, promotional processes, staffing models, shift schedules and organizational politics. Those conversations certainly have their place. But underneath all of those topics lies a much more fundamental question:
What does the public actually expect from us?
The answer is simpler than we sometimes make it. Have you ever just asked a member of the community? I have. All civilians, from the corporate world, sales and service individuals, homeowners and close friends.
They expect us to be competent. Not simply present, passionate or experienced.
They expect competency, not excuses. It’s what we promised them in our mission, vision and value statements. Everyone also stated the same phrase, “Just do your job!”
Equally important, understand that it is the public we serve who also have a place at the table in setting some of our organization’s policies.
We Made an Individual Promise
Every firefighter has a story about the day they entered this profession or promoted to a higher rank.
For some, it was a lifelong dream. For others, it was an unexpected opportunity that became a calling. Regardless of how we arrived, most of us share one defining moment—we raised our right hand and took an oath (or affirmation).
That oath wasn’t just another hiring requirement – it was a lifelong commitment and promise to faithfully discharge the duties as a firefighter, to the best of your ability.
Also, a promise to serve our communities before ourselves with courage, integrity, compassion and professionalism. A promise to protect life, property, and the environment. A promise to continually develop the knowledge (education), skills, abilities (training) and judgment necessary to perform when people are experiencing the worst day of their lives.
Although our family, friends and loved ones were present during this recorded ceremony, the public may never hear the words we spoke that day, but they live with the expectation that we meant every one of them.
Public trust isn’t given because we wear a uniform. It’s earned every time we respond or interact with the citizens we serve.
Somewhere Along the Way
Most firefighters begin their careers with incredible enthusiasm and preparation. We study, train, ask questions, and absorb everything we can. We want to become the best of the best.
Then life happens.
The excitement of probation gives way to routine. Promotions come and go. Organizational frustrations begin to creep in. Personal challenges compete for our attention. We experience difficult calls, difficult leaders, difficult coworkers, and sometimes difficult seasons in our personal lives. Before we know it, some firefighters begin just going through the motions. They’re still showing up, but the aggressive execution, professional and personal development is not there as it used to be.
I’ve seen talented firefighters lose confidence because they lost sight of their purpose and they’ve forgotten where they came from. I’ve also watched and helped others regain their passion simply by reconnecting with the reason they entered this profession in the first place. We all have choices in life, and YOU chose THIS job.
That’s one reason coaching football reinforced an important leadership lesson; every firefighter is motivated differently. Leaders who know their people are far more effective than those who simply supervise them.
One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned, both as a fire captain and as an assistant football coach, is this: People rarely perform their best when they’ve lost clarity about their purpose.
Showing Up Isn’t Enough
I recently came across a statement that suggested the public only wants firefighters to show up when they call 911. I understand the sentiment, yet I respectfully disagree.
Anyone can show up. Professional firefighters are expected to do far more than just arrive on scene. The family standing outside a burning home isn’t evaluating our patch, our rank, or how many years we’ve been on the job. They’re asking one question, whether consciously or not: “Can and will these firefighters solve my problem?”
Competence is what builds trust, what protects lives and is what honors the oath we took. The citizens we serve don’t care what debates are trending on social media. They care that we possess the knowledge, skills, abilities, and judgment to make the right decisions under pressure. That expectation never changes.
Clarity Creates Confidence
Throughout my career, whether coaching athletes or developing firefighters, I found myself asking a simple question: “Do they truly understand and have clarity of what they’re getting themselves into (the good, bad and ugly)?”
It’s surprising how often the answer is no.
Many firefighters understand the excitement of the job long before they understand its responsibilities. Yes, they can get a basic understanding from a job description, but there is more depth involved. That’s why I believe one of the greatest responsibilities of every instructor, mentor, coach and company officer is to create clarity. Teach others the things you were never taught.
- Clarity about the mission, vision and values of the organization.
- Clarity about responsibilities, expectations and professional and industry standards.
When firefighters clearly understand their importance, their position and what is expected of them, confidence begins to replace uncertainty. They begin to feel they are part of a team.
Performance begins to replace assumption, and growth begins to replace complacency.
- Expectations creates confidence,
- Confidence creates competence,
- Competence creates trust.
Ask Better Questions
Early in my career, I realized my perspective was too narrow. If I wanted to better understand professionalism and excellence, I needed to ask people inside and outside the firehouse. As part of a 360 analysis I started asking questions, the WHY and WHAT.
- As a company officer, what does my crew (even private Medics) expect of ME?
- What does our battalion chief, training officer (BC) deputy and fire chief expect?
- What does fire prevention / arson division, planning division expect from a company officer?
- What does the finance director, human recourses director, city attorney and city manager expect from a company officer?
- What does the medic coordinator and police commander expect from us during a critical incident?
This is just a short list. Can you think of any others?
However, most importantly… What does the public expect?
The answers and overall feedback were remarkably consistent and provided an amazing depth to my position as company officer as well as my crew members (players). The public doesn’t judge us by our intentions, our experience, or our social media opinions. They judge us by one thing: competence. Everything else is secondary.
Those conversations reinforced something I still believe today: if we want clarity, we have to seek it (the good, bad and ugly). We can’t assume someone else will define professionalism for us.
Professionalism Is Proven
One of my favorite quotes comes from former FDNY Chief Edward F. Croker: “When a man becomes a fireman, his act of bravery has already been accomplished. What he does after that is all in the line of work.” This statement has stayed with me throughout my career. Professionalism isn’t measured by what we say, but rather by what we repeatedly do – how we play with its “game time.” Neither the football coach nor the company officer performs when the game begins. Their true performance was everything they did before the game even started.
- Every incident, training evolution, patient interaction, fire inspection and every difficult conversation.
- Every opportunity to mentor a fellow peer or someone younger than us.
- Our communities don’t experience our intentions; they experience our performance.
Looking Ahead
Over the years I searched for a simple system that could help me organize and prioritize my responsibilities as a company officer, instructor, and mentor. Like many firefighters, I spent years trying different approaches (many learned while coaching) before finding one that consistently worked.
Eventually, while attending Cal State Long Beach, Bachelor of Vocational Education – Emergency Operations program, Assistant Chief Robert Ramirez (Ret.) LAFD, introduced us to a framework that fundamentally changed the way I viewed leadership and professional development. I spent more than two decades testing it in the academy, on the fireground, in the station, and while coaching others.
This set of functional priorities grounded me and never let me down. In the next article, I’ll share that framework: The Five Expected Responsibilities. It became the foundation for how I approached leadership, coaching, training, mentorship, and ultimately, what it means to be a professional firefighter.
Because before we can develop better firefighters, we must first define what professionalism truly looks like. Once that standard becomes clear, excellence is no longer accidental – it becomes expected.
And once we have that clarity, the real work begins.
