We Have To Change Our Language

It's with interest I read the articles about the gas explosion in San Bruno and it highlighted a few potential issues around the way we communicate with the public and media.

Here's the full article:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/09/san-bruno-fire-chief-...

Here's an example: "Within a minute, he had sounded a four-alarm fire, he said."

What's a four alarm fire? When we communicate with the public and want them to understand what we're talking about, the dangers, the scale, etc, we need to take our lingo out of the communications and (for want of a better word) dumb it down.

Here's another example, "Barringer said he had worked strike teams in the Los Angeles area during past fire seasons"

What's a Strike Team? Again, the general public doesn't understand our lingo.

I know that a lot of things are said while jogging on the spot and in the heat of the moment, but we need to take a moment to think about what we're trying to communicate and who to. The average Joe Citizen doesn't udnerstand our lingo and if there's specific information we need to get across in an emergency, then we need to be extra careful.

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Permalink Reply by Annette Allen on September 22, 2010 at 12:47pm

You know with the scanners...internet streaming live feeds...I think in general people tend to get mixed up with their own stories and then it all goes down hill from there. What iam saying is no matter how well we talk to the media things always gets mixed up.. not from us..but people in there gossip...and i know for a fact that things get hidden and words are said in a way that it covers us up...Not saying any of your departments are this way only saying i know some are. I am not trying to ruffle any feathers...we are all brothers and sisters we take care of our own.