"There's a group of senior guys that will buy beer and clean up your house if you're having a party," she said.

A former intelligence official described the two as "very senior guys" who were stepping down because they did not feel comfortable with new management.

He became a senior guy the way any firefighter does: through proven ability and years on the job.

But in the past decade firefighting has changed from the job that the senior guys knew.

All this makes the legacy of the remaining senior guys much harder to maintain.

What will the senior guys be like in 30 years, some people wonder.

It went something like this: Every firefighter wants to be a senior guy.

But on his lucky day, a senior guy beckons him over and says, this is how you do it.

He was the senior guy, and consequently in charge.

You'll be the captain, the senior guy, in charge, the boss.