托马斯•沃伦
Firefighters face many每天危险。每一个反应都暴露于消防员遇到火灾，危险品事件，传染病，身体伤害的危害和情感疤痕。消防员早就知道这些危险及其对会员职业的影响。现在，消防部门已经出现了一种新的和持续的危险，可能会引起同样的职业生涯终结，许多消防员尚未认识到这一点。必须让所有消防部门的成员意识到这种新的危险，并防止其后果。
这种可怕的新危险是什么，可以带来职业生涯的后果？答案是social media。Firefighters have long been revered as heroes willing to risk their lives to save others. Firefighting was not considered a profession that was entered into for high wages or extravagant benefits–it was a calling.The terror attacks of 9/11在大多数人的脑海中都加强了这个概念。但是9/11是10年前，在那个时候，通信设备的技术进步实质上将电影制片厂掌握在每个人的手中。将这些技术进步与国家经济低迷和对消防员的工资和福利进行的仔细审查相结合，您对当今的消防员有一个真正的问题。尚未看到这将如何影响消防部门的全部范围，但是对一些最近的事件的审查应该使消防部门注意到它不再像往常一样做生意。
Some of the events that have recently occurred include relatively minor incidents but that still have a negative impact on the fire service. Recently in a northeastern city, a tower ladder truck was photographed illegally parked blocking traffic on a busy downtown street while the crew of four firefighters was in a coffee shop enjoying an afternoon coffee. An aggravated civilian who was late for an appointment took a photo of the parked tower ladder and immediately e-mailed it to the mayor’s office. The result was a quick and painful call from the mayor’s office requiring the fire chief to explain this indulgence. In addition, a local investigative news reporter captured a video of an engine company shopping for food at a market in a neighboring city. This resulted in an investigative report on the six o’clock news and another painful call from the mayor’s office requiring the local fire chief to explain why his fire trucks were out of the city.
并非所有涉及的社交媒体事件都是轻微的。许多人可能会非常有害，例如消防站内的欺凌事件，这些事件在YouTube上找到了途径，或者是紧急医疗电话中的视频找到了通往电子邮件列表和Facebook的方式，从而侵犯了患者的隐私权和HIPAA法规。录制并立即通过公众或消防员传输事件可能会为涉及的消防部门诉讼。将记录诸如紧急医疗通话，设备事故调查，消防员造成的不必要损害的问题，或者将记录消防员和首席官的无能为力的问题，并将记录在法律诉讼中。不久前，当一栋建筑物被烧毁到基金会或发生过多的火灾破坏时，新闻媒体将其报告为“顽固的火”，或“消防员到达时遇到良好涉及的火灾”。新闻媒体现在可能会透露，消防员没有使用正确的尺寸霍斯线，未经适当的训练或无法正确使用其设备。消防部门的失败将被暴露，这些失败将由专家证人验证。这可能导致首席官可能在法庭上负责。首席官和消防员将面临纪律处分，并可能终结其职业生涯。
All of these events are damaging to the fire department involved, but the fire service as a whole suffers every time negative events are recorded and make their way into the media. Every fire department in the country is suffering as critics are gaining momentum in their efforts to restructure fireground operations, staffing levels, hours, wages, and benefits. Negative social media coverage only serves to bolster their efforts. Firefighters need to understand that the general public is suffering financially and any initiative that will save tax dollars will receive serious study. The fire service can no longer rest on its laurels, feeling comfortable that the public views its members as selfless devoted heroes. The fire service is now finding itself viewed as simply another public institution that must be funded by tax dollars that the public no longer can provide. Every public agency is competing for the same few public tax dollars. The fire service in no longer sacred.
An old fire chief I know said to me not long ago, “The firemen need to start over; they need to put on a clean uniform, shine their shoes, and help the little old ladies across the street.” His remarks may seem somewhat dated, but his advice was clear and very much on target. Firefighters must completely reinvent themselves as selfless public servants, willing to serve their community, perform competently, and demonstrate respect for themselves and the people they serve every day. Firefighters must be what the public expects them to be. A rebuilding process needs to take place. Social media can be used as a tool toward this goal, not as something to be defended against. Most importantly, all firefighters must realize that they are on the public stage all day every day and their activities will be judged.
还必须说，对消防员的薪水和福利的压力是真实的，也是我们国家经济状况的产物。捍卫和在某些情况下重新谈判工资和福利可能是必要的。这样做的方式使您有所作为，并且从公众的钦佩和尊重的立场工作将有所作为。人性很难从那些受到钦佩和尊重的人身上夺走个人的本性。消防部门需要再次成为公众希望成为的受人尊敬和受人尊敬的组织。每个等级的消防员都有能力和责任积极地建立公众形象，从长远来看，它将积极地为每位消防员服务。
托马斯·沃伦（Thomas N. Warren）has more than 40 years experience in the fire service in both career and volunteer departments. He recently retired as assistant chief of department from the Providence (RI) Fire Department after 33 years of service. He holds a bachelor’s degree in fire science from Providence College, an associate degree in business administration from the Community College of Rhode Island, and a certificate in occupational safety and health from Roger Williams University.
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