Connecting With the Public Safety Community Through Social Media

Technology is bringing the world closer together – from connecting people across the country instantly by live video chats to tapping into the insights of data analytics. This is the type of power that FirstNet aims to bring to the public safety community through the nationwide public safety broadband network.

FirstNet is working to ensure the deployment of a network for public safety use that will give first responders priority in emergency situations to send voice or text messages, images, video, and location information in real time. The network will improve communications and collaboration throughout the public safety community and help responders save lives and keep communities safe.

Social media is a technology-enabled tool that assists the public safety community to collaborate, share information, and help each other. One of the most popular social media platforms is Facebook, which provides a unique tool for engaging with communities and keeping them informed on key developments.

Across public safety disciplines, people come together on Facebook to share stories of courage and heroism, like this post from FireRescue1’s page on the more than 1,000 firefighters that battled California’s most recent wildfires. Law enforcement officers, firefighters, EMTs, and those that support them also share stories of hope and encouragement.

Facebook is also a place for camaraderie and a shared sense of mission. It is great seeing the many faces of EMS via the selfie albums on EMS World Magazine’s page! And, of course, we always follow the #PublicSafetyTech posts, like this one on acoustic sensors to identify gunshots from PoliceOne’s page.

At FirstNet, we are excited to have joined the public safety community on Facebook and look forward to engaging with response agencies and individuals across the country as we work to plan and deploy the FirstNet network.

We will also be using Facebook as a forum to highlight the law enforcement officers, firefighters, EMTs, and other public safety personnel who risk their lives to secure and protect our communities. We want to hear from you! Please follow our page and share your thoughts, stories, and pictures at http://facebook.com/firstnetgov.

This post was originally published on the FirstNet blog.