Two Buffalo, New York firefighters were hurt this morning while climbing down from the roof of a vacant house. According to Division Chief Scott Barry a ladder gave way causing the firefighters to fall about 15-feet to the ground. News reports indicate one of the firefighters is still hospitalized while the other has been treated and released.
Click the image to read more about the fire from WGRZ-TV.
The fire began in the vacant home next door to where the firefighters fell. Chief Barry says the pair had gone to the roof of the exposure for ventilation but quickly discovered the fire had already come through the roof.
Make sure you watch the video above and listen carefully to Chief Barry’s description of fireground operations, the injuries and the actions of the firefighters on the scene. If you are ever looking for a good example for “media” training, this is it. This is the guy who should be teaching PIO 101 to the fire service.
While he still looks and sounds very much like a firefighter, Chief Barry was able to communicate effectively and explain things to the non-firefighter world.
The chief described what had gone on without using any unexplained fire jargon. In fact, whatever fire speak the chief did use he then explained in very simple to understand terms. By doing it this way, he taught the public and the reporters on the scene about ventilation, exposures, immobilization of patients, rapid intervention, additional alarms and firefighters taking care of their own. And he even had a colorful quote or two.
I am sure some will complain the chief was not very PC, but I think the good here far outweighs the bad. It made my day. Here is some of what I liked:
“The house was pretty much going from stem to stern, rocking and rolling”.
“We had some exposure problems which means the fire was getting into the building next door”.
“We try to make a hole in the roof if we know we have any sort of fire in the building because it makes it easier for the men operating inside to advance. It gives the heat somewhere to go.”
“We pretty much package up our members who are hurt in the same way that you might package up someone who was injured in an automobile accident. We put a collar on them. Put them on a backboard. We transport them very carefully because we don’t want to hurt them anymore than they already have been hurt by the fact that they had this trauma happen.”
“These people are our friends. We work together day in and day out. We are a very disciplined group but when you have two guys hurt and they are people who are close to you, you want to go and make sure you take care of them. And that means I need more manpower to keep the fire at bay. So I struck the second alarm with the idea I would probably be spending two or three companies just helping out our brothers”.
Also on STATter911 …
- The spies among us. YouTube video takes what may be a positive PR moment & presents it as something very different. – November 1, 2011
- Pre-arrival video: Five-alarm fire in Santa Clara, CA. Townhomes under construction threaten occupied buildings. Video from four sides. – May 12, 2012
- UPDATED – A must see: It doesn’t get much closer than this. Roof caving in during Dearborn, Michigan fire. Additional video & pictures added. – March 29, 2012
- Raw video: Third-alarm in Allentown, Pennsylvania. And Newsworking was there (again). – November 24, 2010
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Wow – a plain spoken man who tells the unvarnished truth about a situation and leaves a great impression of his department.
Most of the Departments in the D.C. area would not allow a chief officer to brief the press. They trust his (her) judgment to direct fire operations & save lives, but don’t have confidence in their ability to give a basic briefing to the media.
He did a super job. Most Chief Officrs in the Washinton area are good a directing a fire but have no clue as to how to talk to the media…and most of them would rather keep it that way.
That was outstanding Dave. Thanks for posting it. This chief did a fantastic job of explaining everything happening in layman’s terms so the members of the general public could not only have an understanding of what was happening but why. A lot of high ranking fire officers couldn’t do this well reading from a script.
I want to add my thanks for posting this. As a volunteer PIO in a rural county, I don’t have too many chances in front of the camera, but my goal has always been to have an approach like this … no jargon, or if necessary, define it. Thanks for the reminder/example.
Hope that the FFs make a quick and full recovery.
That chief has a future PIO job somewhere. Very easy for everyone to understand.
God Bless the injured Brothers and hope for a speedy recovery.
Dave:
Send Ronnie Few a link to this video. He could use this guy in his next ‘Meet the Chief’ video.
He did a great of explaining what happened, why it happened, and how it should happen. The main problem that I see is that in my area we are fighting for media air time with reports of all the other ills of society and this interview would probably have been condensed to around 9 or 10 seconds of sound with maybe 15 additional seconds of reporter voice over. Again, a commendable job and they should be thankful that the whole bit was aired.
Excellent example of how to address the media. I wish every PIO and Chief Officer (because they represent our departments) could take a page out of this guy’s book. Not only does he explain well but he is also quite well spoken…although I did chuckle at going to the “rouf”…gotta love that upstate NY accent! In any event, excellent job, excellent example for ALL!
This was fabulous: a good PIO makes you feel that he’s just casually talking to you directly, and this was the best I’ve seen in a while. No agenda, just information.
I disagree about the “sound bite” worry Dave brought up. For traditional media, yes; but, the news world is shifting to internet stories like we all saw here — and a calm, enticing voice like Chief Barry encourages you to stay for the whole 2:30.
Finally a Chief that knows how to keep it simple in front of a camera.
Chief Harney ol’ scooby Few doesn’t need help, he himself had proclaimed that he had made it to the big leagues while standing on Conn. Ave watching in amazement. Kinda miss him, I sure could use a new set of PJs. Hope all is well and enjoy retirement; see ya at a dinner the next time one comes around.
Excellent interview Chief Barry really gets it.
Just the facts no sugar coating, anyone could understand what was happening. KUDOS!!!!
A fast recovery to the two injured firemen, and a hearty congratulations to Chief Barry for having the brass to speak honestly and frankly about what he and his men did. Can this guy run for Congress?