Social media and emergencies

[Zebedee]

Came across this article on the ABC website today about the role that social media plays during a fire, flood, or other emergency.

http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/201 ... 635725.htm

A spokesman from the SA Country Fire Service says that social media offers some extra benefits than sending out alerts via the normal broadcast media that we're used to. He used the example of the recent fire that was listed as being in Port Lincoln in the media but over social media a more precise location of Sleaford Bay near Tulka.

It's well worth a read and while the article focuses on things like Facebook and Twitter, the things mentioned also apply just as much to our little forum Our Major Fires threads, one for structural and one for bushfires are yet another way that people can share information on what's going on in Perth and WA with regards to bushfires.

What do you all think?

[Helitak_670]

WA does not "have the funds" ie able to employee a extra few people to keep up with the alerts on the DFES website or go into social media, yet apparently we are ahead of the other states "from the MLO" on Saturdays brief. Personally I think it is a joke the lack of social media from DFES. We are increasingly becoming tech savy and info hungry for things like this. The RFS, CFA, CFS all do a great job, and also have apps for apple and android products.

[arrived66]

Provided you have data coverage, social media (particularly twitter) is a great way of getting a mass message out. The main drawback is probably that only a certain age demographic is using it. The delay until an official message gets out is often quite long, I think it would be great if the official source issued twitter messages like "scrub fire reported in vicinity of <ROAD>, <SUBURB>, more details to follow..."

IMHO the ACT has one of the best systems, you can get a live web-based map of all incidents currently occurring in the state as soon as the incident is reported, even if appliances are only en-route.

With the low-cost of technology these days, I reckon a great system for people who live in bushfire prone areas would be to have a small web-based LCD screen in their living area which interfaces with a system like what the ACT has. You could set the screen so that it lights up/plays a chime etc whenever an incident occurs that meets certain parameters, e.g. has to be in certain post code, be a certain type of incident (e.g fire but not hazmat or MVA). That way, on hot days when the curtains are closed and the A/C is up people would have immediate knowledge of what's going on and can start to take appropriate precautions.

By the way, are there standard twitter hashtags used for fires in WA? I saw quite a few different ones during the Margaret River fires...

[robbage]

What's a hash tag?

[yorky]

#warsug etc so searches are made easier. Mainly just a search tag.

[meg]

WA does not "have the funds" ie able to employee a extra few people to keep up with the alerts on the DFES website or go into social media, yet apparently we are ahead of the other states "from the MLO" on Saturdays brief. Personally I think it is a joke the lack of social media from DFES.

I agree, particularly as the DFES website melts down every time there is a decent sized fire, and thus there is no "official" source of communication online. I email them every year complaining about this, but nothing gets done. It's incredibly frustrating.

WARSUG is a much more accurate and reliable source of information than DFES as it turns out

[vk6hgr]

I agree, particularly as the DFES website melts down every time there is a decent sized fire

Technically speaking, they have the same problems that Clickfrenzy site had. Their site is database driven and they seem to self-host over their corporate Internet link without using distributed caching to help with load.

They desperately need their alerts and warnings pages plotted on a map. Where the heck is "the Midwest Gascoyne" region?? The site and warnings pages are rarely updated during events - usually only before and after.

A reflection of the ongoing tiff between DEC and DFES is that the DFES and DEC sites only contain information about fires they're responsible for. (If I see a great wall of smoke I don't give two sticks whether it's a DEC or DFES managed fire!!). From the DEC website, "DEC issues alerts for fires on DEC managed land or where DEC is the agency managing the incident"

Although DFES do have a Twitter feed which scrapes from the alerts and warnings RSS feed but it's all "be prepared", "BOM has issued a weather advisory" stuff. It's very hard to filter by area of interest as they sometimes use BOM regions, occasionally DFES regions, sometimes local government areas...

[vk6hgr]

On a related note, how to DEC units get called out to their fires? I've never heard any sort of 6AR-like dispatch on their channels.

[meg]

Technically speaking, they have the same problems that Clickfrenzy site had. Their site is database driven and they seem to self-host over their corporate Internet link without using distributed caching to help with load.

Yes, but this has been going on for years and the same thing happens every time there's a decent sized fire - several times every summer. They've had time to actually do something about this, but they seem hellbent on straining their internal infrastructure under the load rather than admitting they can't deliver what's required in-house. Their IT people are not doing them or the people potentially affected by fire any favors.

[vk6hgr]

Their IT people are not doing them or the people potentially affected by fire any favors.

Well I look on jobs WA every so often and they rarely hire. If they want to second someone reasonable out of Education one day... well, I know someone. hehe.

[kyeboi]

On a related note, how to DEC units get called out to their fires? I've never heard any sort of 6AR-like dispatch on their channels.

DEC calls are all made from their office to there fire crews, once they have there trucks comms is again from units to office. from what i have heard lately DEC setup is 1000x better than DFES.

and as well as if out of area or range their ICV will the be the next best thing =)

[meg]

Well I look on jobs WA every so often and they rarely hire. If they want to second someone reasonable out of Education one day... well, I know someone. hehe.

They'd be lucky to get you Gavin, but the reality is they think they're doing ok.

The last time I complained about it they told me to check their Twitter feed instead. So record keeping, accountability and all else goes out the window as they are too bound up with hosting internally on a system that clearly can't handle the peak demands - and I believe its the type of service that has to be designed to handle those demands. People got upset about ClickFrenzy which was just a sale - this is about people's lives and property.

Anyway, that's my rant, as you can see this is a hot topic for me

[auntys_eyes]

There is a community fire page on Facebook for the Darlington area and surrounding districts that is quite active. Soon as people see/smell smoke, hear the helicopters or see/hear fire appliances people start discussions and give info and updates. Some members of the group are members of local VBFBs and correct misinformation, provide answers and use the page to promote community awareness info.

http://www.facebook.com/groups/212963908776791/

[SgtSeedy]

On a related note, how to DEC units get called out to their fires? I've never heard any sort of 6AR-like dispatch on their channels.

I agree, particularly as the DFES website melts down every time there is a decent sized fire

Technically speaking, they have the same problems that Clickfrenzy site had. Their site is database driven and they seem to self-host over their corporate Internet link without using distributed caching to help with load.

They desperately need their alerts and warnings pages plotted on a map. Where the heck is "the Midwest Gascoyne" region?? The site and warnings pages are rarely updated during events - usually only before and after.

A reflection of the ongoing tiff between DEC and DFES is that the DFES and DEC sites only contain information about fires they're responsible for. (If I see a great wall of smoke I don't give two sticks whether it's a DEC or DFES managed fire!!). From the DEC website, "DEC issues alerts for fires on DEC managed land or where DEC is the agency managing the incident"

Although DFES do have a Twitter feed which scrapes from the alerts and warnings RSS feed but it's all "be prepared", "BOM has issued a weather advisory" stuff. It's very hard to filter by area of interest as they sometimes use BOM regions, occasionally DFES regions, sometimes local government areas...

Wrong on two accounts. When DEC issues fire warnings, communication is relayed to DFES and it is there responsibility to upload the warning on the DFES website. Very rarely, if not ever, do you see a warning on the DEC website that isn't on the DFES Warnings page.

DEC Dispatching system is extremely efficient with Direct contact made with crew members by phone for turn out, once trucks are crewed turn out messages are given to the relevant work center or office. Want to have a listen? tune in to #645 HB on the weekend and you will hear it all. In some cases DEC is first arriving at jobs ahead of volunteers...

and the 'on-going tiff' between DEC and DFES these days is slowly being eliminated but seems to always be hampered by people's misinformed comments about each agency or incidents. The communication between DEC and DFES is much better than most people think and if the proper information isn't getting out to the general public about incidents then DFES, as WA's lead fire agency are solely responsible for this.

[vk6hgr]

Thanks for clarifying, SgtSeedy.

I've since been told that DFES' website doesn't have all DEC incidents on it as they remove them regularly, whereas DEC leave them there.