Learn how to build support within your community through positive public relations.  

Creating Positive Public Relations 

02/01/2017 

By MICHAEL CAPOZIELLO 

Today’s fire service, especially the volunteer fire service, is under a lot of scrutiny from the public at large. Everything from pensions and salaries to budgets and spending habits of career and volunteer departments is viewed under a microscope as never before. Maintaining a healthy, trusting, transparent relationship with the community served should be a top priority of chief officers, boards of fire commissioners, fire wardens, trustees, and whoever has a say in which direction your organization is headed. 

Have you tried to purchase a new rig or to renovate or build a new station lately? Time and time again, you read about taxpayers voting down such projects. You may very well need a new station to replace the original 1908 station refurbished in 1954 and, again, in 1981, but the voters-taxpayers of your district vote down the project each time it is put to a vote. 

If you lose the trust of your community, the road ahead will be rocky indeed. Building community support, trust, and credibility takes time, especially if they have been damaged; but, it’s never too late to begin to rebuild your organization’s reputation. 

Building Community Good Will 

You do not need a professional public relations team behind you to create positive attention and conversation about your organization. Let’s look at a few ideas for positive publicity and relations between your fire department and the community in which your deeds and acts will speak for themselves. My department has participated in some of these activities; the others are activities I have witnessed in my travels or thought about over the years. Some are simple and cost nothing to implement; others are more involved and will need some funding. 

Open your doors to the public more often. Back in the day, the local firehouse was very much the center of activity for the community. For some communities, this is still the case. There are ways to open your doors to the public without inconveniencing your membership. The most obvious and time-tested way is to host an open house a few times a year, especially in October; fire prevention month is a great way to show the community “your home” and what you are about. Display the apparatus, and host small demonstrations on the various tools and equipment you use. 

During these events, conduct free blood pressure monitoring, and give away smoke or carbon monoxide detectors. Try to get a local business or a “big box” store (Home Depot, Lowe’s, Wal-Mart) to help sponsor such a giveaway. Most businesses would donate to the cause and promote their “brand” when it comes to fire prevention activities. Most businesses are also looking for positive ways to promote their name or brand. Hosting an open house recruitment drive once or twice a year will also show the community what you’re about. Have members on hand to explain their individual journeys in getting to this point in their lives. Display videos and photographs of individuals and their stories as well as your department in action at fires and other emergencies. 

If you have a large meeting room in your firehouse, make it available to other community groups for their meetings. Doing this once or twice a month for the local Boy Scout troop should not be a major problem for your membership. 

Your department can host cardiovascular resuscitation classes and blood drives in your firehouse. Encourage your members to sign up for the bone marrow and stem cell donor registry lists. The Fire Department of New York has been the number one group of bone marrow and stem cell donors for the New York Blood Center for decades now. Having your organization known for this type of cause is noble, and you could save someone’s life. 

Designate your firehouse as a “Baby Safe Haven.” Another option is to offer baby car seat inspection service. 

Create a junior firefighter or Explorer program. These programs ensure a steady flow of younger members who are interested in becoming firefighters in your community. When the younger members transition into the department ranks as active firefighters, they already know what they are getting themselves into. They have experienced “firehouse life” and understand what is expected of them. This is priceless for job training and important for retaining new firefighters. You can recruit juniors/explorers during open houses as well as through community mailings and visits to the high schools in your district. 

Publish a community newsletter or local newspaper column. My department has been active with the various newspapers that have been serving our community since the 1930s. The newspaper columns have covered fire prevention tips as well as happenings at the department during the month. A few years ago, the board of fire commissioners decided to publish a community newsletter to be mailed to all residents of the district; department members hand-delivered copies to businesses (photos 1, 2). 

The newsletter featured the history of one of the eight fire companies, a fire prevention topic, and other department news. It was especially helpful in getting the word out to the residents about the change from a class 4 to a class 2 ISO rating in 2012. The newsletter proved to be an excellent recruitment tool as well. The department gained many new members as a result of its distribution. 

Create a Web site or Facebook page. I can usually walk into the firehouse or the dispatch center and get an idea of who was hanging around the firehouse or working the previous shift from the newspapers or lack of newspapers lying around. We older folks still like to read a physical newspaper; the younger generation gets its news and media electronically from the Internet. Creating a Web or social media site can reach a lot of people in a very fast and positive way. Your Web site can be as elaborate as showing your alarms in real time with links to actual radio transmissions or as simple as listing basic information about your department. I once responded to an alarm in which the young occupants found our alarm phone number from our Web site. They did not dial 911. They googled Elmont Fire Department and found our site. This is not the recommended way to do things, but it happened. Our emergency number is very small on the bottom of the page; they said they found it with no problem. Luckily, this was a “service” call, but it made me think about how important being “online and cyber” is to the next generation of customers. 

Creating a Web site is also another way to promote recruitment for your department. Information on how to join can be displayed with a downloadable application form. Your Web address can also be displayed on your department’s apparatus for more exposure (photo 3) 

Assist the customer. How we conduct ourselves and show our professionalism on the fireground is imperative in creating good relations with the public, but how are we doing when the fire is out? How are we at providing the “customer” with the best possible interaction? 

Consider assigning someone to explain to the family what is going on and what they can expect next. Ensure that you will be able to contact the Red Cross or other agencies to help families deal with the problems a fire can cause. 

If you cannot spare a body to work with the family/owner of the property, consider creating an information packet that you can give to the family. The New York State Fire Chiefs Association and also the Federal Emergency Management Agency publish a booklet called “After the Fire.” It basically explains “what’s next” for the homeowner who has suffered a fire. You can package this booklet along with information on how to obtain a fire report or other documents from your fire department. Enclosing a pen and small note pad is also helpful, since many times the homeowner does not even have a pen and paper to write on after a fire. These are simple gestures that can make a lasting impression on folks going through one of the worst times of their lives. 

Institute an Adopt-a-Hydrant program. This program has been around for a long time and encourages an individual or a group (Boy or Girl Scouts, civic associations) to basically care for a hydrant that may be near a residence or an organization. This is particularly important in the regions where snowfall can bury a fire hydrant. The person or organization that adopts a hydrant would be helping the local fire department keep hydrants clear of snow or even growing brush in the spring and summer. Individuals would report any damaged or blocked hydrants throughout the year. Those participating in this program can be awarded “Adopted a Hydrant” T-shirts, certificates, or stickers or magnets to display on their windows or vehicles. This may be particularly attractive to businesses, which can display these items in their store windows. You may also create an “honor roll” of these names and post it on the department Web site. These initiatives promote a positive public relations environment and recognize individuals who are helping in the overall well-being of the community. You can mail adopt-a-hydrant information to your residents or display the information on the department Web site year round. 

Develop a pet survival program. We have all seen photos of firefighters in the process of administering oxygen to “rescued” animals on the fireground. These are fantastic public relations moments. However, in most cases, firefighters are using their firefighting self-contained breathing apparatus face piece to administer the air. For a small investment, you can purchase specially designed oxygen kits designed for dogs, cats, ferrets, rabbits, guinea pigs, and birds (photo 4). Your department can purchase the kits or get them sponsored by individuals or businesses in your community. Do you have a local animal hospital in town? Maybe it would like to sponsor the purchase of such kits. 

Create a museum. This is not an overnight task. If you have an older building in your town, perhaps it could be made into a fire museum. If there is enough room, it can also serve as your community’s historical society center. If your county has a museum, ask if you can display items from your fire department. The Nassau County (NY) Firefighters Museum and Education Center (photos 5, 6) had more than 30,000 visitors in 2015. Visitors like to see exhibits from “their hometown” department and learn something they may not know. List names of past department members, especially charter members of your organization. Donate older personal items so future generations can share in the history. In most cases, except for religious organizations, the fire department is probably the oldest continually run organization in a community. 

Support charities as a department. There are many worthwhile and deserving charities in operation today. More than half of the 71 fire departments in Nassau County are members of the nonprofit Nassau County Firefighters-Operation Wounded Warrior program. Volunteers from the departments involved make trips to Womack Army Medical Center, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C., among other locations. 

Firefighters bring donated items such as laptops, DVD players, clothes, and bedding. The individual departments host fundraising activities such as concerts and comedy shows throughout the year as well as community monetary donation drives. Toys, diapers, bicycle gloves, and other items are donated for when the organizations visit the soldiers. 

The Prince George’s County (MD) Fire-EMS Department took the idea of supporting a good cause to a new level with the creation of its “Pink-Team” campaign. Firefighter/Paramedic Rebecca Richardson and Firefighter Brandon Goff approached Chief Marc Bashoor with the proposal of a local businessman donating his time and services to “wrap an in-service engine” in pink as a rolling breast cancer awareness reminder. With that, “Pinky,” as the firefighters at the Croom Road station named her, was born. 

Since then, a new engine and an ambulance have been delivered in pink (photo 7). Both rigs were factory painted pink to create a “Pink Fleet” of unique rigs. The department conducted a social media campaign with the idea of giving the two new rigs special names. Thanks to the public’s involvement, “Courage” and “Hope” are now responding to alarms and are being showcased across the region at select events. 

Your involvement can be as simple as walking together as a group or creating bicycle teams to ride together at various fundraisers that promote such activities. During the holidays, adopt a family in need or a military family. Host a toy drive at your firehouse. How about supporting and becoming a partner with your local burn center? 

There are a many ways to help promote your department’s image. Most of these ideas also help your department to become a better provider and raise awareness in specific areas. What ideas do you have? Don’t be afraid to try something new. 

Special thanks to Prince George’s County (MD) Fire/EMS Department Public Information Officer Mark Brady and Wag’N O2 Fur Life LLC President Ines de Pablo for their contributions to this article. 

MICHAEL CAPOZIELLO is a 32-year member and former chief of the Elmont (NY) Fire Department. He is a department training officer, a public information officer, and a historian. He is also a supervising dispatcher at Nassau County (NY) Fire Communications FIRECOM and the training officer on the field com unit. He has been a member of the Nassau County fire service critical incident stress management team for the past 16 years.

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