Tag Archives: marketing

Progressive fire and EMS departments have long recognized that a good customer care program has many benefits for the citizens they serve and for their departments. Chesterfield County's Fire and EMS Department is one such department.

We're not "carrying the day" with effective public fire and life safety programs that provide the factual information about residential fire sprinklers. We're allowing the builders and developers to promulgate the "half-truths" and myths.

Fire departments should make greater use of social media to promote the success of fire and life safety education efforts such as when the residents of a home fire safely escape because they had working smoke detectors and a Home Fire Escape Plan that they had practiced.

The reality that's "hitting" home with many Fire & EMS organizations today, however, is that their citizens do have a choice. In the current economic climate, where most local governments are having to make tough fiscal decisions, elected officials and their constituents are making "buy" or "no buy" decisions regarding the public safety services for their community. Don't believe it? Look at how many cities, towns, and counties are laying off personnel, closing fire stations, cutting back on non-emergency services, etc.

The fire service needs to market its service as an insurance company does. The fire service provides services to its community that one never wants to call on, like insurance, but can't afford to be without when needed, also like insurance. This is not marketed enough. How many of people live without several insurance policies, e.g., life, health, auto, etc.? None. Yet fire departments in communities across the country are facing dire straits because of lack of citizen support in the voting booth or at fundraising time.

As Dr. Phil says, “It’s time to get real!” Fire departments must stop trying to provide a model of fire protection—one that’s predicated on saving lives and property through the reactive deployment of firefighters who implement an interior fire attack the majority of time—when the department does not possess the resources to do so safely, effectively, and efficiently according to accepted standards and practices, e.g., NFPA 1710 or NFPA 17.

In the absence of factual information, most people will believe whatever they hear or will Social media mind mapmake up their own version of reality based upon their past experiences. In today’s “informational overload” world there are more than a few ways for people in a community to know what the men and women of their fire and EMS department are “up to”, both good and bad. Successful departments are those who've embraced social media in a proactive way to engage their communities in two-way communication.

Picture if you will the L. A. Police Department posting images and videos of the Rodney King incident. Or maybe imagine FEMA sporting "EMA porn" taken during Katrina in New Orleans on their website. Now imagine the public outcry that would occur if say LAPD made a music video out of the Rodney King beating with the soundtrack of Pat Benatar singing Hit me with your best shot or FEMA posting a video of the Katrina disaster images to the soundtrack of Scorpions singing Rock you like a hurricane. Two very extreme examples I admit, but just as questionable. In both cases, someone would end up with an express ticket to the unemployment line.

While waiting for Mrs. Avsec to finish a dental appointment the other day, I slipped across the street to a McDonald’s restaurant in Dunbar, West Virginia to get a drink, a hot apple pie and use their free Wi-Fi to get some writing done. While looking around a bit, I saw things and thought of things that prompted these five thoughts on how what McDonald’s does could help any Fire and EMS organization to recruit and retain more people.

Over the course of the last year, I’ve attempted to provide you—the readers of this blog—with a wide variety of subjects for you consideration and thought. So here are the ten most viewed posts for 2013.