• Home
  • About FFTB
    • The Mission
    • Start Here
    • Disclaimer
  • The Team
    • Contributors
    • Photo Contributors
    • Guest Contributors
    • The Original Crew
  • Contact
facebook
twitter
youtube
google_plus
email
  • Start Here
  • PODCAST
    • About The Podcast
    • Podcast Episode Pages
    • Podcast on iTunes
    • Podcast Official Sponsors
    • Podcast Sponsorship
  • 5 Min Clinics
    • 5 Minute Engine Co Clinic
    • 5 Minute Truck Co Clinic
    • 5 Minute Officer Clinic
    • 5 Minute Clinic Series
  • Product Reviews
  • Articles
    • Eng Co
    • Truck Co
    • Co Officer
    • Safety & FF Rescue
    • General
      • Social Media/ Public Relations
      • FF Communications
      • Art & Science of Firefighting
      • Life Skills
      • Hazardous Materials
      • Rescue Operations
      • Special Operations
        • Marine Operations
        • Airport Fire & Rescue Operations
  • Health & Fitness
  • FF Mindset
BREAKING NEWS
3 Rule Outs of the Medical Patient
“TOP 10” Fire Station Functional Fitness Training Equipment – Part 2
“TOP 10” Fire Station Functional Fitness Training Equipment – Part 1
Keys to Conducting Comprehensive Feedback to Firefighters
3 Keys to Truck Check Success
The 3 Best Types of Workouts for Firefighters – Part 3
PWR Training Sandbag – Product Review
The 3 Best Types of Workouts for Firefighters – Part 2
3 Ways Firefighters can Reduce the Chance of a Back Injury
The 3 Best Types of Workouts for Firefighters – Part 1
Practice How You Play
How to Execute the Proper Kettlebell Swing
What Every Firefighter Needs to Know About NFPA 1583
5 Exercises to Improve Grip Strength for Firefighters
6 Ways Firefighters can Use Exercise Progressions and Regressions
3 Workout Tips for the Volunteer Firefighter
074 – Introduction to Firefighter Functional Fitness
Firefighter Functional Fitness – 7 Tips for Planning Weekly Workouts
The 3 Cornerstones of Firefighter Fitness Success
8 Must-Do Exercises for Serious Firefighter Functional Fitness
  • Public Relations

3 Ways to Improve Public Support for the Fire Service

Posted On 05 Dec 2014
By : Erik Wood
Comments: 3
Tag: public relations

We often fall into the trap of assuming the citizens within our protection area only need us when there is an emergency. The reality is that in today’s fire service, we can offer far more to the public than just jumping on the truck when the tones go off.

Sometimes these non-urgent things can be as important as riding the truck during a call and help us improve the outcomes on the calls we do run.  Equally as important is that it can bolster support for the local station or department, regardless of whether it is a volunteer, combination, or career department.

However, budgets are tight and spending money on things that are not considered operational is not a viable option for a lot of departments. Here are 3 cost-effective ways to not only improve not the service we provide to the citizens but to improve public support for the department as well.

#1 – Making Appearances at Local Events

Also known as doing standbys, examples of such events include high school football games, area softball/baseball tournaments, county/city fairs or other large community events. As long as organizers understand that we may need leave anytime when called (unless of course you’re capable of dedicating resources to strictly that event), making appearances at these events is an amazing way to bolster support.

When the public sees us out and about, supporting the community with our “free” time, it demonstrates that we are a part of the community, not just another government organization. It shows that we care about the community. Not everybody will need us, but if they see us providing a service, it stays in their minds. Personally, this has worked particularly well for my home department.

#2 – Providing Free or Low-Cost Training

This provision of training can cover anything from fire prevention, to home and business safety inspections (with the understanding that we are there to assist, not regulate), to CPR and First Aid Training. The first two trainings can be provided for free while last two usually have a cost to them, especially to cover for the necessary books and cards.

Normally, we can get things at or below the public price and if we charge the public with the cost price, we break even. It will be even better if our budget supports it and we are able to offer them for free.

This type of community service provides us with something that cannot be measured with money. We are teaching the community to be able to help themselves when an emergency occurs. This type of service can save lives within the public as well as ours. For example, it will be useful if they know about the need to change batteries in smoke detectors and how it is done, or how they can make an emergency evacuation plan for the family.

#3 – Letting the Public See You

This differs from making appearances at local events in that we want them to see us ad-hoc or not related to a planned event. Simple things like showing up at the school (if they allow it) and having lunch with the kids or playing basketball with a class are the things all kids would love and will tell their families about. Do random welfare checks on members of the community you know to be elderly or disabled. Checking in on these folks also does wonders for their morale. But more importantly, it demonstrates to the public that we care about the members of community and their well=being.

These three activities are not at all costly and are easy to execute. They are also crucial to showing that we are not only servants of the community, but members of it and that we care and value those in our community!

 

Photo Credit: Erik Wood

About the Author
Captain Wood has over 16 years in the fire service including shipboard and oil rig firefighting and hazmat mitigation with USCG and is currently a Captain with a combination dept. in Auburn, KS and Fire Instructor for the state of Kansas. He has written policies, procedures and SOG’s for several fire depts, contributed to Firehouse and is passionate about officer and instructor development for the volunteer fire service.
  • google-share
Previous Story

How To Select A Public Information Officer – Part 2

Next Story

4 Community Outreach Tips for the Fire Service

Related Posts

0

How To Select A Public Information Officer – Part 2

Posted On 08 Oct 2014
, By Rich Gardiner
0

How To Select A Public Information Officer – Part 1

Posted On 06 Oct 2014
, By Rich Gardiner
1

Someone’s Always Watching….YOU!

Posted On 28 Mar 2014
, By John Hayowyk Jr.

The Fire Department PIO 10 Commandments

Posted On 22 Jun 2013
, By Rich Gardiner

Implementing a Social Media Policy For The Fire Department – Part 1: Introduction

Posted On 11 May 2013
, By Rich Gardiner

3 Comments

  1. Rod Matheny December 5, 2014 at 1:31 pm

    I’m the PIO for Ripley VFD, in Ripley WV. Another public relations tool is social media. We haven been using Face Book for less than a year and the number of likes grows every day. Things that we post are major fires, MVA’s, school/club/ visits, hazardous weather/road conditions, property & life safety tips and so on.

    Our FB page: https://www.facebook.com/RipleyFireRescue

  2. Johnny Winston Jr. February 9, 2015 at 6:40 am

    Excellent article, Captain Wood! Conducting community outreach is a vital and essential part of our responsibility as firefighters, especially during non-emergency times. A good leader understands that. Also having administrative leadership that encourages and supports that great too! Again, nice article!

  3. Erik Wood February 9, 2015 at 12:09 pm

    Thank you Johnny and Rod for the kind words! As always if there is ever anything I can or any of us here can do let us know!

Search Site

Archives

DOWNLOAD FREE REPORT

Popular Posts

FirefighterToolbox Podcast

FireFighterToolbox Podcast (Internet Radio Interview Show)

48 Comments

Top 6 Reasons To Use A 2-1/2" Handline

29 Comments

The Role Of The Second Due Engine - Part 2

18 Comments
Copyright 2013-2017 FirefighterToolbox.com All Rights Reserved.