They Can Hear You
By Michael Capoziello
Thanks to today’s modern technology, we live in an age where it has never been easier for people to listen to our radio transmissions. Besides traditional scanners, fellow firefighters, civilian listeners and members of the media now have the capabilities of monitoring our transmissions via computer sites and smartphone apps. One of the downfalls of this is that listeners can now retransmit sensitive details and information literally around the world in seconds.
Back in the day, if you wanted to find out all the details about a major incident that occurred across the country you would have to wait and read about it in a fire service publication three or four months later. Remember Firehouse magazine’s “On the Job”? Instant information was the evening news or the next day’s newspaper. Today you can read about it almost instantaneously … with plenty of photos and video most of the time.
As firefighters, we must always understand how important it is to think before we speak or hit that send button. Anyone who has been around long enough knows never to broadcast the identities (names or nicknames) of firefighters who may be injured or missing over department radio frequencies. This is a taboo most of us understand, but at times for various reasons it does not always go down this way. In the heat of the moment, things happen and at times cannot be avoided. But, always remember people are listening and some will want to find out all the details when the bad stuff starts happening.
As hard as we may try to protect information, most of the time even our best efforts of keeping things private until the right time and place will fall short. An ambulance might not even be on the way to the hospital and the injured person’s identity may be in the process of being posted via smartphones from individuals on scene. How many of you belong to a smartphone “GroupMe” or fire department-related message board?
If you are part of any of these message boards or smartphone groups, how many times do you see the moderators of the groups post warnings about not posting details of something serious that is going down until an appropriate time? Yet, many times, someone does and once a name or some information gets out, fact or fiction, it is out there and gains momentum by the minute.
How devastating would it be for a family member to find out about a loved one’s injury via group text message or post? Scenarios like this have happened before and will happen again.
I know of a department that once used badge numbers to relay to the dispatcher the identity of those being transported. I was against this idea. It may help in keeping someone’s identity private to the casual listener, but how many of us have company or department rosters hanging around the house somewhere? How easy is it for a family member who may be listening to cross-reference a badge number and set the emotional wheels in motion? How many departments may have their rosters posted on a department website complete with names and badge numbers?
An organization should have solid department SOGs in place regarding broadcasting specific information or posting details and photos of incidents but that will only go so far. It may help in controlling your members, but these procedures will do nothing to deter the outsider from doing what they want.
Unfortunately, at times, the person posting the information is a “brother” firefighter from another department who should know better. For some people, the thrill of being the first to “break” news sadly outweighs the moral responsibilities that should be a part of a firefighter’s integrity when they raise their right hand and swear to do the job.
Chiefs, officers and public information officers must be aware of what can happen and how to manage the message when information does get out there.
Training officers and senior members add this conversation to the “what goes on here/what you see here, stays here” speech I think we have all listened to at the beginning of our journeys in the fire service.
Probationary fire school classes should discuss these situations and potential consequences. Make this topic a part of the learning process. All firefighters must understand and self-discipline themselves not to broadcast sensitive messages.
Always remember the many ears listening … they can hear you.
Until next time be safe and keep ’em rolling.
Michael P. Capoziello is a 30-year member and former chief of the Elmont Fire Department. He is a training officer, public information officer and department historian. A supervising dispatcher at Nassau County Fire Communications FIRECOM and a training officer on the fieldcom unit, Capoziello is also a 14-year member of the Nassau County fire service Critical Incident Stress Management Team.