Houston Fire Declares Firefighter Helmet Cams Illegal

Posted by Dave Konig at 28 October, 2009, 7:00 am

The Houston Fire Department has declared that the use or possession of helmet cams while on duty is a terminable offense.

At issue is a number of videos that have been recorded by firefighters from their helmet cams showing dangerous scenes, dramatic rescues, and intense situations. The videos are then uploaded to video sharing sites such as YouTube and FireVideo.net.

While I am not a proponent of enacting draconian bans on devices that could provide valuable training information and materiel, I can understand why the department would act so harshly. According to this article by The Examiner, the concern for fire departments nationwide is that while the majority of the videos so far have shown their members brave actions during a life saving operation, it may also show tragedy in full living color and raises questions of departmental liability in the process when things don’t go well.

This is an example of Social Media being created by members of a service that can have ramifications for the agency, especially if that agency does not provide guidelines to its creation. The popularity of these activities is evident by the variety of cameras available for this purpose, including some that are manufactured specifically for firefighters.

Whether it comes from a helmet cam, a cellphone camera, or even from a new iPod the fact remains that video is an easily recorded and shared medium.

Make sure your agency is prepared to deal with the issue responsibly.

Source: The Examiner

About the author

Dave Konig wrote 204 articles on this blog.

Dave has been involved in Social Media since 2005 through the current major services and some defunct ones as well. During this time he has been able to hone the craft by testing out the theories of others, creating his own philosophies, and gathering a better understanding of the mediums involved through networking and most importantly actual practice.