Company Officer
IFC Code of Ethics as applied to a Company Officer
As a company officer, having good moral character and a firm code of ethics is essential to establishing long-term success within any department. Without integrity you will not have nor ever gain respect. A company officer without the respect of his guys and department heads is little more than another body on the job. A company officer is a leaders position; he is the leader of his crew. Without having a strong leader in this position, the entire company has more of a chance to be susceptible to failure and corruption. The public in general must view the company officer as someone with impeccable ethics in order for the officer to gain their trust and support. The “Fire Chief’s Code of Ethics” has been developed by the International Association of Fire Chiefs as a guideline for company officers. The very first statement at the beginning of the code states, “Recognize that we serve in a position of public trust that imposes responsibility to use publicly owned resources effectively and judiciously.” Stop and think for a second that statement is the beginning statement for a reason. As company officers we must always remember that we serve the public. The public taxpayers are the reason we have the opportunity to hold the position of a company officer. It is all too easy to become disgruntle and complacent and misuse our authority and equipment. We all to many times forget that there is someone always watching. When we misuse equipment and other resources we are in doubt stealing from our taxpayers. Another listed code in the International Fire Chief’s Code of Ethics that caught my interest was “ Use information gained by our positions only for the benefit of those we are entrusted to serve.” As public servants we are privy to extremely sensitive and personal information on a daily basis. We continuously ask personal information from each patent or fire victim that we encounter each day. The public willingly
As a company officer, having good moral character and a firm code of ethics is essential to establishing long-term success within any department. Without integrity you will not have nor ever gain respect. A company officer without the respect of his guys and department heads is little more than another body on the job. A company officer is a leaders position; he is the leader of his crew. Without having a strong leader in this position, the entire company has more of a chance to be susceptible to failure and corruption. The public in general must view the company officer as someone with impeccable ethics in order for the officer to gain their trust and support. The “Fire Chief’s Code of Ethics” has been developed by the International Association of Fire Chiefs as a guideline for company officers. The very first statement at the beginning of the code states, “Recognize that we serve in a position of public trust that imposes responsibility to use publicly owned resources effectively and judiciously.” Stop and think for a second that statement is the beginning statement for a reason. As company officers we must always remember that we serve the public. The public taxpayers are the reason we have the opportunity to hold the position of a company officer. It is all too easy to become disgruntle and complacent and misuse our authority and equipment. We all to many times forget that there is someone always watching. When we misuse equipment and other resources we are in doubt stealing from our taxpayers. Another listed code in the International Fire Chief’s Code of Ethics that caught my interest was “ Use information gained by our positions only for the benefit of those we are entrusted to serve.” As public servants we are privy to extremely sensitive and personal information on a daily basis. We continuously ask personal information from each patent or fire victim that we encounter each day. The public willingly