I was working as an Incident Commander on a remote wildland fire and was asked to ascertain photos from firefighters on the line because the lack of connectivity prevented Public Information Officers from getting fire photos to the public. In my closing comments of a morning operational briefing I asked the firefighters who were willing, to share some photos with me. Photos taken on the fire line are often a sensitive issue. Understandably they were hesitant because of policy issues and previous discipline for sharing their photos on social media. One Hotshot Superintendent, who I happen to have a lot of respect for quoted policy (pictured below) that validated his concern. I returned to my office to report back to my supervisor, a USFS District Ranger. It did not go well. The Ranger was resistant and hostile towards me. I had been getting used to his toxic behavior towards me but was hopeful he would be open to communicate in a positive manner since it involved fire and hotshots. Unfortunately, like many other experiences with him I realized he would take any opportunity possible to deny or push against anything I presented to him no matter what it was. I had been communicating with my local Civil Rights Officer about his behavior. Unfortunately, no matter how toxic the work environment was, he admitted his hands were tied when it came to helping employees.
The interaction shown here wasn’t a huge significant incident. It is merely a small example of constant micro behavior that slowly but surely tears good people down.
