The Silent Service

Americans are addicted to TV. At any time day or night millions of Americans are tuned in to be entertained and/or informed. Millions more are wired into the internet 24/7 through twitter, Facebook, and other social media. These two outlets provide the vast numbers of americans with the information they use to form options about the world araound them. What does this have to do with the fire service you ask? Simple, really. We have fallen behind. Missed the bus. We've been left in the dust. With the exception of a few forward thinking departments the fire service use of the internet has been to share information amongste its members primarily and the public is a distant second. Locally the use of the internet and TV by the fire service to not only inform the public is nearly nonexistent. We are the silent service. Quietly going about our jobs while the public and its opinion is informationally ignored. How many citizens really know what they are paying for? How many know the issues that face the modern fire service? How many care? Its our fault. The tools have been provides but we choose not to utilize them and insulate ourselves from the public unless we actually have to interact with them. Why? We should be taking a proactive approach to our citizens safety with weekly PSA announcements on local TV stations and social media. Providing up to date information on working incidents not only allows citizens to avoid those areas effected (the flip side is that some will be drawn to incidents ) it also provides citizens with the knowledge that their Fire Department is working. Training to provide a new or enhanced service such as technical rescue or advanced life support to your citizens? Announced it. Informing your citizens is the only way to keep them in the loop and the only way to ensure that when tough budget decisions have to be made citizens will demand that their fire department be funded to the level that they demand. Its time we stop being the silent service. It's time for us to heard.

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