Posts Tagged: Public Relations
Why We Search: Camden
Pot of Gold at the End of the Row?
Demolition crew arrives day after fatal fire, years after neighbors' requests.
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Firefighters say rules wouldn’t allow them to go beyond ankle deep to reach drowning man in lake three feet deep. Inquest in UK brings out similarities to Alameda, CA case.
Cop and paramedic also ordered not to go in.
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Video Killed the Recruitment Star
In his February 17th Morning Lineup features (and updated on February 20th), FireGeezer.com's Bill Schumm discusses and demonstrates the effectiveness, or ineffectiveness, of using video as a recruitment tool. While his perspective on why we face the…
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“Not Gonna Do It”
It wouldn't be prudent.
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Brooklyn Citizen Finds Firefighters “Joyriding”.
Or, “Engine 255 Shops for the Meal”
John Q. Public thinks your are supposed to brown bag it each day.
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Handling the bad news: Estero, Florida firefighters say chief ordered them to leave fire engine & serve alcohol, topless at private fundraiser. Fire commission extends stories life with vague answers.
Vague answers a week late won't get reporters off your back.
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@FireRECRUITER: Rise to the challenge
An article recently posted to FirefighterNation.com outlines the challenges faced by volunteer fire departments in Pennsylvania in recruiting and retaining their members. Although these types of articles are becoming all too frequent, this one in particu…
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Tremendous Loss of a Talented Storyteller
Although I never had the opportunity to meet or speak with the man, I was "in his presence" on a few short occasions and was always impressed by his talented writing abilities.
Today we mourn the loss of fire service and news world l…
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Impact of the Digital Age on Recruitment and Retention
The world is changing rapidly and the fire service is getting caught up in the tornado effect of technology on our society.
More and more fire departments are smartly using web sites, e-mail and social networking tools like Facebook and Twitter to …
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Mark My Words
"Johnny, you've got the lawyer spot tonight."
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The Firehouse Doors
The doors of the firehouse offer those we serve a peek inside of our world… but in many places, we are closing those doors and hiding behind them.
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Funding, accountability & your image. Strategies for dealing with increased scrutiny of your fire department, firefighters, unions & associations.
Scrutiny of fire service funding in Washington County, Maryland prompts Dave to look at the big picture.
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Has Anybody Seen Our Common Sense?
"At the kitchen table one night, one of my firefighters came out with the statement that we should enforce a 300 foot buffer zone around every fire operation,"
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Misguided Anger
Maybe some of us can't handle the truth, that this is what is expected. Maybe some of us have lost focus and forgotten about "getting the baby!" Maybe it's the kinder, softer-side of firefighting, that makes reality more harsh.
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Rhetorical Lesson No.8:
If We Did it 100 Years Ago, Is it Still Okay?
100 years ago? Seriously? They must have had some damn fast horses and buggies back then.
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Life Safety Initiative No.12 and the DCFD
It is a shame that some of the strongest advocates for firefighter safety have not publicly criticized this plan.
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Lesson from Weston: Stuff happens. Delaying addressing it with the press & public doesn’t make it any better or go away faster.
Consider the image of your department in the digital age as a neighborhood of lightweight constructed homes on a very windy day, with the houses built six feet apart, with no sprinkler systems and no real fire resistive barriers in the outside walls.
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Line Of Duty Deaths. Canadian Editorial Asks Why All The Fuss?
"Ah, but they selflessly sacrifice themselves for the "public good." Ditch the martyr complex. Growing broccoli or roofing a house is just as socially beneficial as apprehending a shoplifter."
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Audio: 911 calls, radio & other communications from controversial Alameda drowning released. Listen to recordings & read timeline.
Open records request gives new insight into response to drowning.
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Alameda citizens let officials have it over drowning. Firefighters to get training, but still no boat.
Island community has gone two years without water rescue capabilities.
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That was quick: Policy change for Alameda water rescue. If expectations aren’t lowered with the funding you too can be forced to watch a man drown & take the blame.
There are important lessons in this one. Don't let it happen to your department.
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Alameda, CA firefighters & cops suffer image blow as they watch man drown. Dave believes without training & equipment they shouldn’t have been dispatched to the call.
Dave looks at how this could have been prevented and what the fire department does now about this image problem.
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Firefighter charged with burglarizing home of elderly woman he took to the hospital. Osceola County, Florida fire chief gets how to handle bad news.
Fire chief expertly handles a reputation issue for the department.
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The Endangered Species
"The UFA also claims fire emergencies have increased 16 percent since 2001 and that the FDNY received a record number of alarms in 2010."
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The Vicious Cycle