Fire agencies try out social networking

Fire agencies throughout Sonoma County are joining the social
networking craze with Facebook pages and Twitter broadcasts, free
and easy ways to communicate and inform the growing number of users
who log on daily to the popular websites.
Opinions on the usefulness of these sites vary from department
to department. Some officials feel social networking could be used
as another method of broadcasting emergencies, while others are
using Facebook and Twitter to notify residents of electronic
recalls and notices on firework bans and fire safety. None are
quite sure what the long-term benefits may be from using such
sites, but all agreed there was no reason not to take advantage of
the free services.
While no one knows how many local residents use Facebook and
Twitter, the overall numbers are staggering. According to Facebook,
the site has more than 400 million active users. More impressive is
that 50 percent of those users log on to the site in any given day.
The company estimates users spend 500 billion minutes per month on
the website.
Facebook also claims that the average user has 130 friends. For
local fire agencies, that means that each time a resident joins —
known on the website as “likes” — their page, many of the
resident’s friends will see them join and, if they’re interested,
will join themselves. If the new user decides to join, his or her
friends will see the action, and many will join themselves.
This sets off a chain reaction called “going viral”, a term that
describes when an issue or person becomes popular via the internet
in a very short time through virtual word of mouth.
At the Forestville Fire Protection District, Fire Chief Dan
Northern regularly updates a Facebook page (called Forestville Fire
Protection District) to notify residents of safety recalls and fire
safety. He’s included a link to the Facebook page from the
district’s actual webpage and notes that it’s much more budget
friendly to update Facebook—which is free—than to pay someone to
update a webpage.
In the past month he’s posted several recall notices on
dishwashers and coffee makers, the agenda for the local fire board,
and a flyer promoting the Forestville Youth Parade.
“If I think it’s important I’ll put it up there,” he said. “We
have 8,500 citizens in Forestville. How do I communicate with all
of them? What newspapers do they read? How do I get the word out
about something that’s important? At this point it’s trial and
error.”
At the Windsor Fire Protection District, longtime administrative
assistant Ginger Hamilton constantly updates the department’s
Facebook page (Windsor Fire Protection District) and Twitter feed
(WindsorFire). It’s one extra thing to do on any given day, but she
believes the little extra time required to update the pages are
well worth it.
“I think that any time you have the opportunity to convey
information to people for free, it’s foolish not to take advantage
of that,” she said. “In these days when every dollar has to defend
itself because of the shortfalls, it gives us a wonderful tool that
allows us to get information out to those who follow us.”
Hamilton posts everything from wild land fire notifications to
links to websites that offer readers tips on fire safety. She also
sees long-term advantages to communicating with residents about
emergencies, especially if the power goes out. “People are relying
more and more on their smart phones and cell phone to get
information,” she said. “If the electricity is out, as long as
phone batteries are charged they can get information.
At the Geyserville Fire Protection District, Fire Captain Joe
Stewart has been publishing fire incidents on the district’s
website for five years and a Facebook page (under Geyserville Fire
Protection District) and Twitter feed (called GeyservilleFire) in
the past year. “It’s just a presence,” he said. “You never know who
you’re going to be able to reach and what context. It’s like having
an open house.”
In the past, fire departments relied on face-to-face interaction
with the community at large to get out information. Stewart said
that still happens, but less. “People don’t go out as much as they
used to, but they’re on the Internet,” he said. “Our goal is to get
information out to the masses. When the information goes viral,
everyone sees that other people are looking at it and may look at
it themselves.”
Stewart posts regularly on Geyserville Fire events, including a
recent bus training and an open house. He wouldn’t rule out posting
emergency notifications on the site, but noted that he’d likely be
out fighting the fire—not using his computer to tell people about
it.