We’ve certainly seen plenty of negative stories about “firefighter-produced” video and still photos, so it’s nice to see a positive example of how the prevalence of cameras (on helmets, in mobile phones, on dashboards, or in pockets) can help our fire departments tell their better stories.
Obviously, if the outcome of this incident had been different, the resultant video footage could be a great deal more sensitive.
In this case, it documented three rescues by skilled and dedicated firefighters — and that’s undoubtedly a good thing.
Balancing the potential down- and up-side of onscene video (both official and unofficial) will likely continue to be a challenge faced by all our departments.
Like so many things we do: when it’s good, it’s really good; but when it’s bad, it can be really bad.
Stay safe and remember to smile for the camera(s)!
