Following the suicide of Firefighter Nicole Mittendorff last year, the Fairfax County (Va.) Fire and Rescue Department contracted to have an assessment done of organizational culture and attitudes within the department. The resulting report includes many valuable insights and recommendations, but also falls short when it comes to really dealing with the issue of accountability.
The report is clear that the effort was not an investigation of specific events, but rather a more general description of current climate within the department. Indeed, Nicole Mittendorff’s name is never mentioned, nor are the defamatory comments, which were posted online about her and other women on the department.