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Those who choose firefighting as their profession do so with the unspoken understanding that they’re only a call away from facing a situation that would test their abilities, training and stress levels to the max.

Performing at their peak requires a level of concentration and attention to detail that few civilian vocations can match — which is why even the presence of potential distractions must be minimized.

That’s the challenge ahead for those tasked with restoring order to Jackson County Fire District 5, which has seen much of the year disrupted by allegations of mistreatment by department management and the eventual resignation of a majority of its board of directors.

“This is going to be such a massive undertaking,” Brady Graham, president of the union that represents District 5 employees, said last week. “Especially for three new (board members) who really came in blind to what all was going on … as far as the absolute mess that we have here.”

Graham said that the reconstituted board — which voted last week to approve an investigation into union allegations that led to Fire Chief Charles Hanley being placed on leave — and the appointment of Assistant Fire Chief Aaron Bustard as interim chief gave him some reason for optimism that the months-long turmoil ultimately could be resolved.

The allegations center on what was called a failure to address workplace misconduct — including instances of bullying, harassment and sexual harassment — that the union claims led to the departure of multiple district employees.

“This isn’t all going to be fixed overnight and the union understands that,” Graham said, adding that some steps might taken initially that could improve morale.

That’s obviously a key element to relieving tensions at the three stations in the district, which services an area with a population of more than 23,000 in Talent, Phoenix and unincorporated parts of Ashland.

Back in February, Graham told the Rogue Valley Times that he had presented to the board a survey taken within Local 2596 of the International Association of Fire Fighters that found 28 of 32 employees “do not believe (Hanley) effectively resolves employee concerns,” and 24 of 29 respondents “do not have confidence his (his) ability to fulfill the duties of Fire Chief.”

Despite those results, and multiple motions to place Hanley on leave, the majority of the previous board refused to take that step, preferring the matter be handled internally.

Lengthy and often contentious board meetings ultimately resulted in three of its five members resigning en masse in early March, leaving it up to the Jackson County Board of Commissioners to fill the vacant seats.

It wasn’t until early May that Hanley was placed on leave, a move he argued against after the vote was taken, saying the terms of his contract had not been followed and that the new board “has come in and basically overstepped my ability to deal with this.”

Greg Costanzo, chairman of the fire district board, cited the urgent need to improve morale at the district after the unanimous decision regarding Hanley.

“Morale is number one — you need to take care of each other,” he told union representatives at the May 7 meeting. “You need to take care of each other because your life is on the line every day that you go out there to do your job.”

As the investigation into union complaints was announced, Graham said that the gravity of the situation isn’t lost on anyone.

“The future of District 5 is still pretty uncertain,” he said, “until we figure out the extent of the damage that’s been done.”

In the meantime, those on the front lines will need to call on every ounce of their abilities, training and concentration to keep stress-caused distractions from impacting their duties.