Crisis Response

To video or not to video?  That is the question.  Recently, Dave Statter (@Statter911) told me of an incident where the Washington DC police department was criticized for hassling a citizen videotaping police operations on a public street. The incident ...

A few months ago I read an article in a fire service magazine about a fire in a garden style apartment in Sacramento, California in 2010.  Actions by first in crews from “Sac Metro” led to a great rescue of ...

Last weekend I tapped the #SMEM community, asking for their “Commandments” related to use of social media in emergencies.  It generated a dozen or so replies, many with a common theme.  I’ve incorporated them into my own list below.  What ...

In one of his recent blog posts for Emergency Management Magazine, Eric Holdeman declared the debate over as it relates to the need to use social media tools in emergency management.  I’m not so sure the debate or discussion is ...

One of the most frequently expressed mantras in the social media for emergency response world is; “Engage before the big one, or you will be irrelevant.”  So what does that mean?  It is fairly easy – but time consuming – ...

This week I flew to Washington D.C. along with three fellow thought leaders in the use of social media for emergency management/response.  Brian Humphrey, Lead PIO for LAFD, Mark Basnight, PIO for Charlotte, North Carolina FD, and Denis Gusty, DHS ...

The little trembler on the east coast yesterday afternoon was fascinating and fun to watch. I’m sure it wasn’t fun for those caught up in it. But for those of us on the “left coast” who have experienced earthquakes it ...