Fire Operations Group, May 2011

•	 We’re in a new era of media. The word “media” used to mean the news/broadcast 

industry and what came out of Hollywood. Not anymore. Almost anyone in the fire 

organization now has the capability to shoot video or photographs and post them 

within minutes. Social media enables firefighters to express a thought or opinion 

almost at any time from any location.

•	 The capability can be positive for the fire and aviation community. For example, new 

technologies can be used to provide documentation for accidents or provide helpful 

information to investigation or review teams. The new technologies can provide great 

images for sharing with family, friends or even national audiences. 

•	 Yet we’ve seen some instances of video or photographs in unsafe, unprofessional or 

embarrassing circumstances. When that happens, it reflects poorly on the entire fire 

and aviation community. 

•	 Agency managers and supervisors don’t want to police video and photo postings. 

We’d rather approach it in terms of “doing what’s right,” and allow employees to use 

their own judgment about what is appropriate and what is not. 

•	 Posting an inappropriate video, photo or blog comment could have unwanted effects.

» It may be unsafe to shoot photos or video. A firefighter who is concentrating on a 

camera can’t be looking up, looking down, 

and looking all around.

» It could direct unwanted attention to individuals and crews that may lead to disciplinary actions. It also could mean that 

disciplinary decisions are taken away from 

local supervisors and assigned to people 

elsewhere in the organization.

» Once a video goes viral, not much can be 

done to pull it. An unprofessional or unsafe 

activity will have a shelf life of years. 

Guidelines: Firefighter Photography, Video and Social Media Use
» No one benefits when the fire 

service is perceived as 

unprofessional. 

» The long-term effects of posting 

a video or photo may damage 

careers. The person you may 

be hurting most is yourself or a 

crew member. 

» Posting video or photos that 

depict unsafe or unprofessional 

behavior is a serious breach 

of ethics. The content might 

have been the result of a simple 

mistake, a lapse in thought, a 

moment of bad judgment. But 

it’s a conscious decision to post 

unflattering images. In that sense, posting them could be viewed as a 

more serious lapse of ethics and judgment than the activity portrayed 

in the video or photo.

» We all make mistakes. Is it fair to have a crew member’s mistake in the public 

realm for years to come?

•	 NIFC has a photo library and we’ve been approved to post to the government 

YouTube site. Firefighters are welcome to send their images to NIFC external affairs 

for posting. There are other sanctioned places to post appropriate images without 

damaging your reputation or the credibility of the fire and aviation community.

•	 Supervisors need to emphasize the importance of appropriate behavior within the 

fire community. Take advantage of pre-season meetings, refresher training, tailgate 

safety sessions, and other opportunities to remind fire personnel of their responsibility to represent the fire and aviation community in a professional light, at all times 

and in all ways. Teach and remind, and then teach and remind some more as the 

season goes on.

•	 To date, problems in this area have been minimal for the agencies. Let’s continue 

the good work and keep up our professional judgment to ensure it stays that way.