I want to thank Barry Nuss who is the Fire Marshal and Public Information Officer for the Lincoln County Fire Protection District 1 in Troy, Missouri, for requesting I reach out to fellow PIO’s and PAO’s to find out what they carry in their “go bags” for large scale incidents.
I’m interested to see what you guys travel to incidents with. I am in the position of being both a PIO and Class A firefighter. I have to be prepared on numerous fronts to have “go to” equipment in a number of places.
In one of my other lives I am the lead broadcaster for Verizon Fios cable coverage of the NASCAR races at Long Island’s Riverhead Raceway. The weekly production is a “production.” A crew of around 10 toils for a good part of the afternoon to get the cables, cameras, monitors, microphones, headsets and electronic equipment in place to make things hum during the evening boradcast.
This past Saturday a racing fan with a small Flip HD video camera came up to me with a request. This woman asked me if it was permissible to video some of the racing action. She told me her son was a frequent visitor to the track and is now in the Army stationed at Fort Jackson. She felt this would be a taste of home for him. I told her it was fine and she proceeded to take her seat in the grandstand with a bunch of family members.
While we worked our way through the Verizon broadcast I noticed this woman shooting the races, interviewing family members for her son, interviewing drivers who went to sit in the grandstand after they raced.
This woman was virtually able to do with a $150 camera what it took two announcers, a 10 man crew and tend of thousands of dollars in equipment to accomplish.
Yesterday afternoon my department was toned out for a mutual aid on a working fire in a neighboring town. We sent a Chief and an Engine. I followed the transmissions on my scanner and it appeared our work was limited. The scene of the fire was right near a notorious, long shuttered psychiatric hospital. A number of plans are on the table of how to eventually utilize the land the facility is standing on. Everything from parks to a planned community is on the table.
Due to the interest in the site, I figured the media would be all over this one. Little did I know that the media would be all over me.
This past Friday we had a fully involved barn fire in Smithtown, NY where I serve as PIO. Fortunately horses stalled in the barn and other livestock where turned out in paddocks when the fire erupted so thankfully no animals were lost or injured.
In Smithtown, most property zoned for livestock has the family residence at the front of the property and the barn area set to the back.
At Friday’s fire the barn was about 100 yards set back from the access street. Incident command was also set up close to the barn. On the access street was one Engine supplying the water source from a hydrant, Fire Police and Suffolk County PD.
I have tremendous admiration for GEN Stanley McChrystal. I respect his dedication to attain victory, his strategic objectives and his pursuit to get the assets this country needs in the Afghan theater to get the job done.
Through some of my past posts, referring to President Obama’s crisis leadership, you may sense that I am less then enamored of his decision making process. Yet in the McChrystal-Obama dispute I have to lean towards the Presidents side in this one.
The lifeblood of the volunteer fire service is the adherence to the chain of command. If a Captain is badmouthing or second guessing the Chief, the chain is snapped and chaos ensues. Lack of response to direct orders or discrediting the Chief to members of the Department has never resulted in a positive outcome. It can only lead to internal firehouse strife and ineffective operations on the fireground.
From a crisis communications point of view the Obama administration has failed miserably in providing any sort of semblance of order in providing crucial information, known expertise or a strong face and voice for the overwhelming oil spill in the Gulf.
We all know the feeling of getting the page in the wee hours to respond to an incident that requires the attention of the public information office.
The attempted car bombing that took place in Times Square in NYC on Saturday evening is one such type of incident where the split second coordination of internal and external information to and from many departments is required.
When we arrive at a scene I traditionally have to make one of three quick decisions –perform the duties of a firefighter if manpower is lacking, perform my normal duties as the PIO, or watch to see the scene unfold to determine where I can best serve. In a volunteer department all bets are off relating to PIO responsibilities when we are short handed on the fireground.
There are many times I am at the scene of a fire with sufficient manpower and no press on site where I opt for the third choice and go behind the lines to interact with bystanders. I do this for several reasons –
I want to thank Doug Walton who forwarded me this story from Gerald Baron who writes Crisisblogger. Baron’s blog for many years has provided some great insight into crisis communications. The blog should definitely be on your favorites list.
The post reviews the virtual communications response to the recent IRS Austin plane crash.
NATO forces in Afghanistan Chief, US Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal made a public apology, with translation in Dari and Pashto, to the Afghan population for an unintentional attack that killed 27 civilians a few days ago. McChrystal is attempting to be more transparent and forthright with public information distributed to the Afghan population.
LAFD PIO Vehicle
One dilemma I face as a PIO from a volunteer department is transportation to a scene. I would assume that the vast majority of volunteer departments do not provide a vehicle for the exclusive use of a PIO. In my department, the Smithtown Fire Department on Long Island, response must emanate from our main house or one of our two substations.
In many departments responders can arrive at a scene in their own vehicle, in my department this is not a SOP.
 This blog is part of the Emergency Services Ad Network. For marketing opportunities, please click here |
I wrote a non-EMS related blog. It's about my vagina, and who doesn't want to read about my… (more)
FORCE MORE DOORS IN A DAY THAN YOU HAVE IN YEARS! The Bluffton Twp. Fire District will be hosting… (more)
There was a "life lesson" or some sort of Fire Department training in every task. They worked hard… (more)
Retired Norfolk (VA) firefighter Sara Jones "Jonesy" needs your help in her battle with cancer.… (more)
