The book Firehouse, by David Halberstam, tells of Manhattan's Firehouse 40/35, from which 13 men responded on September 11th and only one returned. One who did not return was Captain Frank Callahan. Halberstam describes effective leadership by exploring Captain Callahan's wielding of authority. Halberstam writes:

A few years [before Callahan arrived] an officer had come into the house determined to make his mark by letting the men know who was in charge. He was a strutter; one of these officers, the men said, who swaggered when sitting down. He operated from the start as a hard nose, always showing everyone how tough he was and how they had better shape up to meet his high standards. What was worse was that they did not like what they saw of him as a fireman. Words in a firehouse matter much less than deeds. That captain did not last—he did not pass the firehouse leadership test.

The captain's character is elemental to the code of the firehouse, for he holds in his hands the men's very survival, regularly making decisions of life and death. By tradition the captain is the first in and the last out of any fire.

The officers lead the men into the fire and share their dangers. Thus leadership and title are not merely hierarchical with firemen; they are the basis of a sacred trust. Week by week, month by month, [Captain Callahan] won their trust. His leadership was all by example.