This website was created by me, Marlee McCall, to simulate my exploration of the relationship between the fire service

and social media. The topic I decided to delve into this semester is one dear to my heart: the fire service. I was prodded by my professor to relate it to Web 2.0. I wanted to know how the fire service could or is utilizing existing social media sites to extend their influence to the community. In addition I wanted to know what opposition or controversy the fire service could anticipate and prepare for or even avoid altogether. The relationship I discovered and have now showcased is strong and interesting. It's important to you too. Take a look; you'll realize its relevance to your daily life. It involves reaching the public about their time, safety, community, and money. Also, remember that at some point or another, we may all need the expert services of a fire department. Though the fire department specializes in firefighting, they respond to emergencies other than your home or workplace catching fire. If you need an ambulance, the fire department will respond. If you are in a wreck, the fire department will respond.

Why Social Media Firemen and others in the fire service understand that topics featured at the Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC), "the world's largest fire training-based conference and exhibition dedicated to delivering the finest training available to the men and women of the fire service" according to their Facebook page, are important to the industry. Rhett Fleitz, the author of The Fire Critic, taught a class at the FDIC titled Social Media: The Fire Services Next Big Innovation. Dan Knight, Penflex employee and author of the article "Social media for volunteer fire departments" explains that "Social media is social because you're having a conversation with them, not just bombarding them with a message they can choose to ignore. " He explains, declaring that social media's effectiveness comes from the fact that the audience a fire department reaches on social media is very selective because whomever views it has already proclaimed their interest by liking or following the page. Therefore, spending time and expending effort on your departments social media page will result in a good portion of your online community members following. This allows the department to relay information to all of their followers at once: the calls the department responds to, the lives they save, and the events they host. It is also important to remember that all of those who follow you are connected to others and they can easily share the news with them, which again, quickly pulls more support. Connecting via social media can be an advantage for fire departments as such an integral (whether the community realizes it or not) part of the community because social media users have a tendency to be community oriented, meaning that they are most likely to care enough to respond to fire department messages and volunteer their time. This fact was manifested by the Pew Research Center & Internet and American Life Project. Their discoveries included that 80% of Americans are online

 82% of social media users 85% of Twitter users, are involved with a volunteer or non-profit group in some way. Interviews Interview with paid and volunteer firefighter, Zachery Ledford What type of social media does your department use? Facebook and Twitter, as well as a website. How do you currently see the fire department using social media? They let the community know what the fire departments doing; they use it to get respect and support from the community. Who updates the social media pages? Whats their title? A volunteer fireman, a public information officer Do the other firemen show interest in the social media? How? Do they make suggestions? Yes, mostly through discussion about pictures that are posted and by showing up to the training opportunities that are posted online. Does the department have interactions with a lawyer about social media usage for on-duty firemen? Off-duty firemen? No, No What kind of response do you see out of those who view the page? We get positive feedback. What does the department include in their updates? Calls, upcoming events (100th year celebration etc.), severe weather alerts, training photos, apparatus photos (truck pictures) What else could the department do to improve their image? To encourage support? To recruit firemen? Include fire safety tips, (smoke detector reminders etc.) Additional comments They didnt post when they got new volunteers. Interview with Maurice Vassar, fire captain for the City of Cincinnati What type of social media does your department use? Facebook and Twitter. How do you currently see the fire department using social media?

Keeping in contact with the public, safety updates, fire department functions and programs Has anyone attended social media lectures like the ones at FDIC or other similar conventions? No, no one has. Who updates the social media pages? Whats their title? I do [fire captain] and there are two other administrators, an IT person, like a webmaster, and a public relations, information officer. Do the other firemen show interest in the social media? How? Do they make suggestions? Yes, some post and comment. Some post pictures. Are these on-duty or off-duty pictures? On-duty, around the firehouse, some post off-duty pictures that theyve taken at the scene while on duty. Has this been an issue or problem? No, no, not at all. Does the department have interactions with a lawyer about social media usage for on-duty firemen? Off-duty firemen? No, not really. What kind of response do you see out of those who view the page? All positive, sometimes with a message of appreciation, sometimes a question What else could the department do to improve their image? To encourage support? To recruit firemen? More outreach, more contact, everything we can do. We havent recruited [using social media], but were looking to, probably will in the future. Interview with Chief Meadows, District I Chief of Emergency Management (City of Asheville, North Carolina) What is your ISO* rating? I think 2. Has anyone attended social media lectures like the ones at FDIC or other similar conventions? Oh yeah, we do have PIOs [Public Information Officers] that have gone to several instructor classes. What type of social media does your department use?

Twitter and Facebook How do you currently see the fire department using social media? Its a great outlet, what we post, people repost. We let the public know whats going on, we post media alerts and press releases when necessary. Who updates the social media pages? Whats their title? Kelly Webb, PIO Do the other firemen show interest in the social media? How? Do they make suggestions? They go and see whats posted and definitely become friends on Facebook, we have several firemen with Twitter accounts. Has the department had any social media problems, in terms of what gets released? No problems, the City of Asheville has a policy and we make sure they know whats acceptable and what wouldnt be. We dont want to give the city or the department a black eye. Does the department have interactions with an attorney about social media usage for on-duty firemen? Off-duty firemen? It come through the city, we have an attorney that way. What does the department post on social media? We hope its informative, we post blood drives or if we have a fireman whos ill, well get the word out about a fundraiser that way. What else could the department do to improve their image? To encourage support? To recruit firemen? We want community relationships; we strive to meet the needs of the community. We try to hire minorities and females to broaden community relations. *An ISO rating is an Insurance Service Office fire protection rating given based on the adequacy of their service; 1 being the best and 10 the worst. The rating determines how much home and business owners in the area have to pay for fire insurance. Interview with Rob Brisley, a Captain and PIO for the Charlotte Fire Department I understand you have an ISO rating of a Class 3, is this correct? Yes Does this rating influence community support? Yes, it validates the high level of fire service available.

What type of social media does your department use? We have a blog, youtube, twitter, facebook, flickr, bambuser, delicious Who updates the social media pages? Whats their title? Two PIOs, Captain Basnight and Captain Brisley. Has anyone attended social media lectures like the ones at FDIC or other similar conventions? Yes, all PIOs have received social media training through the private sector and the American Management Institute through the US Fire Academy What types of information is posted in the departments social media updates? Our first priority is impact incidents that impact the community. Our second priority is fire and life safety awareness information. Third is incident after actions reports and community affairs stories. This excludes medical calls, correct? We decline [releasing] medical [call] information unless its a major incident, like a wreck with multiple personal injuries or mass casualties. What kind of response do you see from those who view the page? The information is extremely well received; the growth [of followers] is very regular, it maintains a steady growth. We receive feedback about how factual the incident information is. So much so that the local UPS and local delivery vendors follow us to be aware of things that would affect their route. Taxi companies monitor our information updates too. The media and press accept is as an efficient and accurate flow of information. Do they use the departments updates in their coverage? Yes, our twitter news alerts have been read on the air in live breaking news coverage. We encourage this. My cell phone minutes have been cut half by using social media. I used to have to make a number of calls for reports but now there are minimal calls. So you see this as an advantage? A very good advantage, we can reach more than just our primary stakeholders.

Do the departments members show interest in the social media? Its primarily for the citizens. Does the department consult with an attorney or emergency services representative concerning social media? The city of Charlotte attorney is a valuable partner.

Does the department have a social media policy? The fire department has a separate social media policy. Has the department has any issues with what gets posted? We cannot dictate how individual [firemen] conduct their social media use, we can only recommend. As far as the community, the citizen feedback is well received. The concerns or controversies have been minimal but weve been able to address them. What else could the department do to improve their image? To encourage support? To recruit firemen? As far as our brand, more push, more day in the life, behind the scenes via social media. Expand, and make available specific safety information for different age groups and businesses. In terms of recruitment, its not a top priority, we hire from a huge pool of candidates.

Effective Updates What to Post Access this presentation to gain a greater sense of the relationship between social media and the fire service. Dan Knight's suggests in his article, "Social media models fire departments can use" on FireRescue1 to "Try to ensure that the information you are providing is of interest and importance to everyone in the community and not just strictly department related news." He goes on to give a few examples of what a fire department should post: how many fires you've put out this year where to view the new budget what your local ISO (Insurance Service Office) rating is community news Knight claim that "It will do you no good to simply tweet about department business and in-house developments". I must dispute this last point because all of his suggestions are absolutely department business and any development for a community's fire department will likely draw more supporters. One goal for a fire department is to have community support and for many volunteer departments in "in-house developments" are due to local support (which includes THEIR money) and just as any American wants to see where their tax dollars are being spent, a local wants to see what their tax dollars and otherwise invested funds are doing. Rhett Fleitz agrees in his description of his social media classes saying "Making themselves accessible to their audience (taxpayers, legislators, members, and visitors) can be a huge part of a positive public relations campaign". Also I think a fire department's social media page is not only to inform the community it serves but to spark

interest and draw perspective fireman. Therefore, if the department gets a new truck, post it proudly. If the department saves a cat, post it. Posting Updates Effectively For those departments struggling to gain followers: "Social media is a road, not a destination, it takes daily effort, perseverance, and willingness to communicate without a net." -Dan Knight Departments must remember that not every message displayed through social media sites can be extensively reviewed, which is scary for some departments that do not typically release anything to the press until it has been thoroughly addressed and scrutinized. This is also meant to be a warning to leave the responsibility of updating in someone's hands that in well trained and trusted. In order to maintain followers a department must post interesting material on a daily basis.

Social Media Policy Social media policies are necessary in a fire department because firemen's use of social media on an individual level is potentially harmful to the department as a whole if they mix what they do on-duty with what they do off-duty. Its a problem if: firemen post, or otherwise share, graphic images on their personal pages firemen release victim information The media are professional internet searchers and are guaranteed to find and broadcast this information. In consulting Glenn Bischoff's article, "Face it-Social Media can be a Headache for Police and Fire Departments," it can be concluded that basically firemen need a code to live their social media life by that needs to include the following to avoid some severe consequences: All images taken by on-duty personnel are the property of the department. Only use department issued cameras at the scene (and preferably leave that to a designated photographer). Images should be archived in a secure location be aware of the First Amendment to the Constitution Edward Robson, an attorney who represents volunteer fire and ambulance companies and author of Social Media Policies: What you need to know" explains that the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution pointedly constrains the "manner in which the government may interfere with an individual's freedom of expression". The government is not permitted to put any restriction on speech unless it's "content neutral". Fire departments may encounter unanticipated political turmoil if they do not present a sound social media policy. The policies are intended to avoid breeches of privacy of those the fire department serves and the members of the fire department. Robson claims that these policies regulate the sharing of sensitive or personal information if its not your own.

Fire departments should avoid generalized policies to avoid vague expectation, susceptible to misunderstanding. In addition, department should avoid restrictions on specific viewpoints because according to the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, they are not permitted to restrict their employees or members opinions. In addition policy writers should caution themselves to the term social media because it encompasses so much, but rather create multiple policies. They should also explicitly explain inappropriate use and why it is inappropriate to its members. Robson suggest a department claim that the policy has been implemented to prevent speech that interferes with a department's efficient operation. Finally a department should consider consultation with an attorney before punishing anyone for violating policy terms.