Essay on Social Media: Enhancing Fire Dept. Operations in the Digital Age

Social media usage has grown so fast now being part of every day's life, the younger generation taking full advantage of it. It has simplified communication around the globe. It is far easier to communicate with people a thousand miles away which deemed difficult in the past. With significant advancement in technology, organizations and various departments should also cope with the technology in its daily operations. Social media is here to stay; therefore, the fire department can utilize it to its advantage to communicate with the community they serve (Murphy, 2013).

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Social media can be used by the fire department to provide community residents with information regarding emergencies and natural disasters like wildfires. These may save lives since many people have turned to social media. Younger firefighters have grown up with an exposure to electronics and also learned sing computers. (Murphy, M, 2013). They no longer depend on newspaper and magazines for news. The fire service leaders should understand these trends, which not only applies to their firefighters but also to the public they serve.

The use of technology should be embraced in the fire service right from the personal level the opportunities of sharing ideas thought various social media platforms. The fire service leaders have the opportunity at their disposal to connect through social media. This makes them interact more easily and readily with the public; hence, the services are better, and critical information is received in time (Latonero & Shklovski, 2011). Through these, the residence will no longer depend on the emergency sirens or turning into local television for news; the information is accessible with their smartphones (Latonero & Shklovski, 2011).

Although the use of social media may sound ideal, it has some negative side. It can cause racial discrimination by uploading racist chants discriminating comments. This brings a need to regulate what to be shared and posted on social media (Murphy, M, 2013). This is evident enough through the video uploaded on snapchat, which went viral, destroying the image of fire service.

The video, worth 5 minutes long, shows one of the firefighters strapped on the backboard on the ground doused with jets of water periodically from the rear valve of the truck. Some men are spotted pouring popcorns, cream, chocolate, and yogurt on the firefighter on the floor. Although all of them on the video are firefighter of the same crew, it can be concluded as a form of harassment. The guy strapped seem to be new in the firefighting occupation since one of them was heard saying, "Dude you are crying. You want to quit, just say it." (Arnold, 2017). In some ways, this might be hazing. It is a bad show to the public and may lead to loss of trust and respect for the occupation. Hazing is still a problem in the firefighting organization and has sparked some serious discussion to the public.

Hazing and pranking may be quite similar, but they are very distinct. Hazing, a rite of passage, is something done to newcomers to organization eligibility of their membership. It includes harassment, abuse, humiliation, and unnecessary work assigned to the newcomers to earn their membership. On the other hand, pranking is done by existing members in an organization to create fun among themselves. Both pranking and hazing are not encouraged in fire service, and its occurrence depends on the nature of the crew and its leadership. To the public, they portray a negative image of the fire service.

In the video that hazing was too extreme although he might not have sustained any injuries. As the video went viral through snapchat, the firefighter's professionalism is questionable by the public. Hazing is not fun to those being perpetrated since no one wants to be humiliated as seen in the video. The flash of water may cause a heart attack for some people, and the results may be fatal. According to the code of conduct of firefighters, they need to preserve public trust at all time. The public places significant trust in the firefighter's profession, therefore the fire service employees need to exercise good judgment to preserve the trust. The firefighters are encouraged to maintain the highest standards of professionalism and behavior. What we see in that video is contrary to their code of conduct which must be condemned at all cost.

Creation of the best possible firefighter can be through proper training, good leadership, clear expectation, and mentoring. Also, jokes or humorous environment may bring an enjoyable environment. Hazing, although it might not cause harm, brings division, hostile working environment, property damage, personal injuries, fear, and mistrust (Horne, 2018). Practices like these should have no place in the fire service.

Hazing is prohibited in fire service; anyone found guilty of performing hazing activity is reliable of violation of human rights and should be prosecuted (Horne, 2018). According to the code of conduct of the firefighters, one should respect each other and participate in activities that promote teamwork and cohesiveness in the organization. It is the role of the organization and its management team to form policies that prohibit any form of hazing. This can be done by sensitization through organizing seminars.

Also, the use of social media in fire service should be regulated to avoid misunderstanding. Although there are no clear policies governing the use of social media, the fire department put in place some rules and regulation to its staff to oversee the issue. It should be used only to relay essential and relevant information to the public. This way, it will be effective and efficient in fire service operations.

References

Arnold, R. (2017). 5 Houston-area firefighters fired after video surfaced on Snapchat. Retrieved from https://www.click2houston.com/news/video-prompts-investigation-of-houston-area-firefighters

Latonero, M., & Shklovski, I. (2011). Emergency management, Twitter, and social mediaevangelism. International Journal of Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (IJISCRAM), 3(4), 1-16.

Murphy, M. (2013). Social media and the fire service. Fire Technology, 49(1), 175-183.

Horne, D. (2018). POLICIES AND PROCEDURES - Hazing and Bullying. Retrieved 20 September 2019, from http://www.cityofandersonsc.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/hazing-and-bullying.pdf