NFPA Journal - January/February 2014 - (Page 45)
FEMA is also trying to maximize the
impact of its social media use, particularly for data collection. Craig Fugate,
FEMA's administrator, created buzz in
2011 when he said his agency would
use social media before, during, and
after a disaster. Two years later, Shayne
Adamski, FEMA's senior manager of
Digital Engagement, provided written
testimony to a House of Representatives' homeland security subcommittee
stating that the agency has followed
through on its promise. FEMA now has
five Facebook pages with approximately
170,000 fans and 36 Twitter accounts
that have amassed 460,000 followers.
Like the Red Cross, the agency is also
"tapping into the potential of social
media to gain valuable feedback," Adamski stated in his testimony. FEMA, for
instance, identified rumors circulating
online during Sandy and quickly corrected the misinformation through its
social channels. It has also held "virtual
town halls" on Twitter.
Higher education institutions-a
setting filled with a generation of Facebook and Twitter enthusiasts-also
seem to appreciate the breadth and
rapid dissemination of online information. "Social media is integral to our
outreach and response efforts," says
Diane Mack, director of emergency
management and continuity for Indiana University and a member of the
NFPA 1600 Social Media Task Group.
"We've integrated it into our mass notification system. Whenever we send
out phone and text alerts, we're now
including social media components."
These components came in handy
when reports began circulating of
a man removing a long gun from a
parked car at the university's downtown Indianapolis campus last March.
The 30,000-student campus was
placed on lockdown as officials tried
to locate the individual, who was
never found. "These tools allow us to
understand what's going on out there
[on campus] and the emotions people
are feeling," says Mack. "It's not just
information going out, but information coming in. They're extremely
Photograph: Corbis
Recording the moment as Superstorm Sandy approaches New Jersey. Experts say monitoring
the use and accuracy of such images on social media platforms is becoming an increasingly
important task for the public safety and responder communities during emergencies.
powerful tools if you're able to harness
them. Unfortunately, there are still a
number of county emergency managers unfamiliar with these tools."
Standard operating procedures
The need for better guidance and
in-depth code language on the use of
these tools prompted the formation
of the NFPA 1600 Social Media Task
Group last year. The 2013 edition of
the standard mentions social media in
Annex A as part of the development of
a crisis communications plan. According to the standard, these plans should
include a pre-established structure and
process for gathering and disseminating emergency and crisis information
to internal and external stakeholders.
Collecting inquiries and responding
to the public should be incorporated
into the process to ensure a two-way
dialogue. The standard states that social media can aid in this endeavor, but
doesn't supply additional information
on the use of these tools.
"I never realized how large a role social media played in emergency management until the committee members
and I started seeing recent examples"
of its use, says Orlando Hernandez,
staff liaison for NFPA 1600.
Both Hernandez and Jo Robertson,
the task group's chair, say it's too
soon to speculate on new language or
provisions that could be included in
the standard. The committee, however,
has been querying NFPA 1600 committee members on their companies'
social media use, from both the public
and private sector, to get a better sense
of its function. "Because social media
is changing so rapidly, it's not necessarily going to be worthwhile to list social media platforms [in the standard],"
says Robertson. "None of them may be
relevant in 2016. We'll be focusing on
why it's necessary, and its use will be
determined by the entity itself."
The task group will continue its
discussions on effective code language
with the rest of the 1600 committee
at its next meeting in March. So far, it
seems the committee is in line with the
task group's efforts. "The sense from
the committee is that what the task
group is doing is right on target," says
Hernandez. "I was surprised that there
was such broad agreement on this
issue. There was a collective acknowledgement that this has to happen."
Fred durso, Jr. is staff writer at NFPA Journal.
Follow him on Twitter at @FredDursoJr.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014 NFPA JOURNAL
45
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - January/February 2014
NFPA Journal - January/February 2014
Contents
First Word
In a Flash
Perspectives
In Compliance
First Responder
Research
Wildfire Watch
Outreach
Firewatch
#Are You Prepared?
Life and Death at Memorial
Barrier Smarts
Perfect Storm
Conference & Expo Preview
Section Spotlight
Product Showcase
Looking Back
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