The Importance of Social Media and the Fire Department

The one-size-fits-all approach is not applicable in the context of social networking in corporate firms and workplaces. The advantages of social media are contingent on the type of networking platform, its features, and the organization itself. Since their inception, social networking sites have been known to play a critical role in improving the communication and productivity of compliant firms. In the contemporary society, the fire service also uses mainstream social networking platforms for receiving and disseminating information. The traditional reliance on print media as a source of information has faded away as social media provides an unlimited amount of data at a mere keystroke. With the help of media sources, firefighters are linked to the outside world and their communication is not limited to scanners and radios. Social media has transformed the manner in which people operate, and the fire department has stay attuned to the trends. Therefore, the fire department should embrace the recent changes and come up with social media policies to govern the use of these sites and exploit them to the advantage of the unit. Overall, social media can confer enormous benefits, as well as a profound detriment to fires services.

For a long time, most leaders in the fire service had been using social media at a personal level only. Fire departments were only limited to highlighting upcoming events and posting pictures. However, with time, the fire service has come to appreciate social media for its multiple applications and uses. The platforms for exchange of ideas and education through various social networking sites and blogs are currently at the disposal of firefighters (Comstock, 2013). These individuals also have the opportunity to connect with one another. The administrators of fire departments now interact more efficiently with the public and can disseminate information on the activities of the staff in ways that could never be considered previously.

In most cases, better connection and access to the local community or the general public is the most important advantage that social media confers to the fire service. Sites like Twitter and Facebook serve to bring people together around the work and public outreach endeavors of the fire service. In turn, such connections significantly improve access to and interaction with the civilians. Fire units no longer have to execute their public relations and community outreach programs by taking open-house forms or school visits because, in today's world, cyberspace provides a platform to conduct the most personal, fastest, and even the most efficient community outreach.

Moreover, residents are better served as they have easy access to vital details, particularly during an emergency. Today, civilians do not have to rely entirely on wailing sirens or local television stations for updates or news on crises. Instead, at the touch of a button and through their smartphones, they gain access to the necessary information, much faster than before. A survey by the American Red Cross found that a whopping eighty percent of the civilians believe that fire departments and other emergency response units should continuously monitor their social media pages (Bernier, 2013). More prominently, the same study revealed that the Internet ranks third among the most popular means for members of the public to gather details about an emergency.
The social media presence of a fire department and pristine admittance to the public can be exploited to achieve various goals including bettering transparency, improving customer service, enhancing visibility, and quickly passing vital information (Scott, 2013). In the end, all these aspects would positively influence the department’s relationship with the civilians. Enhancing visibility would involve a fire unit informing its Facebook or Twitter followers about the station's activities and plans. Resultantly, when a significant event or a critical initiative occurs, the department’s followers are likely to share the information with other interested parties in the community. Bettering transparency, on the other hand, entails letting taxpayers see the utility of their money, and is an exceptional way of establishing trust and assuring the public that their tax is not being mismanaged. Increasing transparency could involve taking photos or videos of firefighters on site and posting details on professional development programs and training sessions.

The positives of social media and its use in fire services are many and are not limited to the few mentioned above. However, the negative effects of such networking come to play when the department’s personnel exploit them for amusement purposes or for advancing their interests at the expense of the public. Despite the nobility of the intention for its use, social media can always present an element of violation and corruption when accessed by idlers or persons with malicious intents. It is beyond employers to plainly ban all communication and networking activities that are not related to work because the approach would not yield the desired outcome. Therefore, if workers are to be allowed to use social media, it is imperative for companies to establish a well-defined and comprehensive policy to prevent abuse of the privilege (Collins, 2012). To this effect, fire departments should also come up with social media policies to control the unwarranted use of these platforms during official work hours or govern how working employees use networking sites.

There have been many cases of grueling pictures taken from the scene falling into the wrong hands and going viral on the web (Edrington, 2013). It is understandable that photos are required as part of the evidence to build a case in some cases but can be used in compiling reports and as references for future training in others. In such cases, approvals by the relevant authorities are issued. However, they can violate the privacy of an individual as well as go against the law when taken without the required authorization. This creates a dilemma because some firefighters have been reported to be using their mobile handsets while on emergency scenes. Medical personnel in many emergency response teams also registered their concerns about being distracted in the course of provided critical care to injured victims by the annoying ring tones in the scene.

Indeed, social media has significantly changed various aspects in the contemporary society. Social networking sites have enhanced communication and improved access to information that was previously very taxing to acquire. These trends have spurred the emergence of fire service units to embrace social media in a bid to keep up with the fast-occurring changes. Social media brings with it numerous benefits that can be tapped to improve the day-to-day operations of organizations. Fire departments are among the many entities that have benefited immensely from the introduction of social media. Today, the link between such units and the public or their local communities has been enhanced as information freely flows between the two parties. In turn, this connection has improved customer service, transparency, and efficiency of fire departments. However, with social media also come negatives. Misuse of these networking sites has led to the violation of laws and people's privacies, particularly when photos from the scene leak into the Internet through social media. As a remedy, fire departments are expected to formulate and implement comprehensive and elaborate social media policies to govern the use of social networks during the dispensation of duty.




References
Bernier, S. (2013). Social Media and Disasters: Best Practices and Lessons Learned. American Red Cross. Retrieved from https://www.redcross.org/images/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/m22442828_Social_Media_-_Suzanne_Bernier_-_SB_Crisis_Consulting.pdf
Collins, K. (2012). The Fire Department and Social Media: What's Your Policy? Fire Engineering Retrieved from http://www.fireengineering.com/articles/print/volume-165/issue-5/features/the-fire-department-and-social-media-whats-your-policy.html
Comstock, D. (2013, April 19). Using Social Media to Advance the Fire Department Mission. Retrieved from Fire Rescue: http://www.firerescuemagazine.com/articles/print/volume-8/issue-6/management-and-leadership/using-social-media-to-advance-the-fire-department-mission.html
Edrington, J. (2013). Social Media and its Place in the Fire Service. University of Cincinnati College of Engineering and Applied Science. Retrieved from http://ceas.uc.edu/content/dam/aero/docs/fire/Jeff%20Edrington.pdf
Scott, B. (2013). The Fire Service and Social Media: Time to Get Engaged. Fire Engineering Retrieved from http://www.fireengineering.com/articles/2013/02/the-fire-service-and-social-media--time-to-get-engaged.html