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November 01, 2012

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Canadian firefighters no longer allowed to use personal cell phones

Officials say there is no specific incident prompting the policy change

CBC News

Firefighters and paramedics in Winnipeg are no longer allowed to use their personal cellphones on the job.

The city confirms that it implemented its "electronics and camera use in the workplace" policy on Oct. 25, banning emergency personnel from using their personal phones while they are working.

"The purpose of this policy is to ensure that legislation such as The Highway Traffic Act and the Personal Health Information Act are adhered to by all employees of the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service," a spokesperson told CBC News in an email Thursday.

"The policy serves to prevent distractions in the workplace and help ensure the safety and privacy of all personnel, the public, and patients."

Chris Broughton, the head of the Winnipeg Paramedics Union, said his union supports the new rules, but not everyone likes the idea of a cellphone ban.

"There's been a mixed response," he said.

"People today [are] quite attached to their phones and smartphones, and we're just another segment of society."

Broughton said there was no specific incident that prompted the city's new rules on cellphone use.

Comments

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Jason Low Thursday, November 01, 2012 4:41:52 PM Sounds like preventative measures against distracted driving and violations of FOIPP rules (Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy - not quite the same as but vaguely akin to HIPAA) to me. I'm all for prevention of distracted driving, especially when the driver is in charge of a multi-ton vehicle operating at high speeds in dangerous situations - but there are legitimate uses for photographs, video, and other annotations of emergency scenes. I myself post on Twitter via our department's official Twitter account (with the chief's approval) about incidents we run on. I'm smart enough to not include details that would violate someone's privacy. Rather than outlawing everything, a comprehensive program to integrate social media and public relations into our jobs is warranted.

Ben Frascona Friday, November 02, 2012 1:32:19 PM There is something behind this policy..My dept. has a policy that says "it's up to the supv. to allow personnel to carry cell phones on their person". But it also states that "cell phone's shall be in the vibrate or silent mode". I agree with that....However, I've used my personal cell phone to make contact with the base hospital because my service had signal and the departments did not, and I've used it to call family members of patients to put them at ease....Other than that, I have my own direction that under no circumstances shall a member of my crew answer their phone on scene, or use it while driving, or take pictures of patients. even if my engineer or medics have a bluetooth device....A little common sense needs to be used especially with the new hires who never grew up in the age of no cell phones or computers....(dating myself..lol).

Paul Zavala Z-Man Fri Nov 2 21:55:53 PDT 2012 Kind of like when kids were not allowed to have cell phones in school. The Columbine came along and changed all that. Hell I remember when you couldn't carry pagers

Kenneth Tull Sr. Friday, November 02, 2012 6:44:17 PM There's good points to this and bad ones. First I'll guarantee there have been problems using cell phones for calls or texting while driving that have caused accidents of close calls, but there needs to be cell phones available in case on board communications fail with central dispatch and the need for converations that don't need to be put out on the air for everyone to monitor.

Ron Ayotte Saturday, November 03, 2012 5:16:22 PM Personal cell phones can be valuable tools, for example, when communications break down, you need to take a quick picture to show fire conditions on arrival, or how something was found prior to overhaul, etc. Common sense should prevail...

Jeff Allen Monday, November 05, 2012 5:04:57 AM I hope this wasn't a knee jerk reaction to one firefighter getting caught doing something stupid with a cell phone. I believe cell phones are necessary 'tools' for all of us and banning them can create as many issues as it may solve; time will tell. One thing they don't have up there (I used to live in winterpeg) is a law suit for every action and counter action like we seem to have in the US. We'll see. Stay safe.