What fire departments should know about social media policies

I recently read this great article on the FireRescue1 website about social media policies and what fire departments should know about them. The article begins by referencing recent news coverage of an incident in which a firefighter video of a fatal crash victim went viral and cites this as a good time for any fire departments or agencies to reexamine their social media policies or draft them for the first time.

The author, Edward Robson, discusses the goal of a social media policy - being that of promoting privacy for both the people fire departments serve as well as that of fellow responders. A good policy would cut off the dissemination of sensitive or embarrassing information by prohibiting people from posting or otherwise sharing it.

Robson goes on to give a few tips to think about when drafting or editing a social media policy. You should give these a read as well if you are thinking of doing the same.

We want to hear from you!

Does your department have a social media policy, or are you looking to draft one? Have you had any issues with sharing sensitive information? Let us know in the comments!

-Lauren Backstrom

Check out all of NFPA's social media sites here!