#FDNY #SMEM: A one-woman #Twitter response team

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

#FDNY #SMEM: A one-woman #Twitter response team

As Storm #Sandy barreled down on the Northeast on Monday, a one-woman response team at the Fire Department of New York monitored Twitter through the night to help people in need.

Rahimi works as a public relations, writing and social media maven for the New York City Fire Department — where she’s constantly juggling the demands of unpredictable days. A career writer, she also pens lifestyle stories for newspapers and magazines across the country.

Gorgeous FDNY Social Media Manager Emily Rahimi, a seven-year veteran at Fire Department of New York kept New Yorkers updated on developments from a storm that flooded many parts of the city Monday night through the official department Twitter feed.

In a flurry of more than 100 tweets, Rahimi, who was still working at her desk on Tuesday morning, replied to cries for help sent out on the social media service, passed along updates from Mayor Michael Bloomberg and followed up when New Yorkers posted tweets of thanks.

"I was just tweeting to people who were not able to get through to 911," Rahimi told Yahoo News.

Rahimi posted updates to the official @FDNY Twitter account urging those facing emergencies to dial 911. Because the response effort was divided among city government agencies, calling 911 allowed dispatchers to filter out assignments instead of every request going to the fire department.

"*Do not* tweet emergency calls," Rahimi wrote as the storm hit.

But for those unable to access a phone or who could not get through, Rahimi was there to help.

"My friends' parents who are trapped on #StatenIsland are at 238 Weed Ave. Water almost up to 2nd flr.," posted Michael Luo, an investigative reporter for The New York Times.

"I have contacted dispatch," Rahimi responded within minutes. "They will try to send help as soon as they can."

Rahimi's tweets sometimes helped serve as a much-needed voice of support while victims of the storm waited for help to arrive.

"[A] volunteer's brother is trapped in 301 oriental blvd apt 4h can u help us?" a user with the account name @bklyndafna posted on Twitter.

"Has he called 911?" Rahimi posted in response.

"yes no response," @bklyndafna said.

"That area is busy now. Units are working as quickly/safely as possible. Will make sure dispatch is on it. Keep in touch with him," Rahimi wrote back.

The FDNY Twitter feed is full of conversations between distressed friends and relatives and the FDNY, which offered support and guidance.

The account is still up and running, providing advice for poststorm safety and, of course, still on the lookout for those who are stranded.

Source: http://m.yahoo.com/w/legobpengine/news/blogs/ticket/meet-fdny-one-woman-twitter-response-team-guiding-141143449.html?orig_host_hdr=news.yahoo.com&.intl=US&.lang=en-US

CFN - California Fire News 2012

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How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

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CFN - CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS - CAL FIRE NEWS

Wednesday, October 31, 2012