As a volunteer fire department PIO, and not in house based, I have to be prepared to respond from wherever I am in the community when an alarm is toned out. Since my main PIO “toolbox” is located at the main house, I need a fully redundant system that can duplicate some of the items I keep in the firehouse.
At the firehouse I have a large camera bag that holds the following items –
Digital camera
Camcorder
Kodak Xi8 pocket camcorder
Flip camcorder
PIO Armband
Extra batteries
PIO baseball cap
Reporter’s notebook
Pens
Business Cards
All of my media contacts are on speed dial on my Blackberry which I always carry.
I don’t always carry the camera bag when I go on calls. If I anticipate an alarm is going to be pretty much status quo I don’t bring the bag. As a result I have some backup in my turnout gear. In my pockets I have –
A small digital camera
Flip camcorder
Reporter’s notebook
Pens
Business Cards
My department does not allow turnout gear to be stowed in your vehicle. If I’m tooling around in my truck when an alarm is toned out and I pass the scene on the way to the firehouse, and it appears that sufficient manpower is on the fireground and I do not have to be a PIO/firefighter I keep the following in my truck –
A digital camera
Flip camcorder
Reporter’s notebook
Pens
PIO vest
PIO baseball cap
Business cards
Extra batteries
In my jacket or pants pocket, all the time I keep a Flip video camera.
With this redundant system I am confident that I always have the tools needed to do my job, wherever I am.
The one reoccurring item I have in all my backups is a Flip cam. They are inexpensive, lightweight, can shoot both video and stills, have rapid edit capability, replay on any computer and quickly download to YouTube and other video sharing Website. In my estimation the quality is as good as or better than many full sized camcorders and is so inexpensive you can carry multiple units such as I do.
If you don’t use a Flip, Kodak Zi8 or other similar camera, you are missing out on a simple way to collect scene video.
Here’s a quick overview on the Flip –
Also on The Fire PIO…
- A PIO Social Media Christmas – December 22, 2010
- Even the Walls have Ears – November 24, 2010
My go-kit consists of my camera bag (my camera is a Canon S5IS and capable of video, but I’m much more of a stills kind of guy), extra AA batteries (since the S5IS devours batteries at 170 shots per 4 set of batteries), business cards and notepads and pens. I also have a Blackberry, which is also loaded with contacts (both phone numbers and e-mails).
I would say extra memory for the camera, but being an 8MP camera and having a 4 GB card, I’ve never come close to filling it up on just one shoot.