Firefighters may soon face social networking restrictions

August 01, 2011|By Colleen Ferreira (cferreira@wsbt.com), Click here to follow Colleen on Twitter | By Colleen Ferreira (cferreira@wsbt.com), Click here to follow Colleen on Twitter

SOUTH BEND — Whether on or off the job, soon South Bend firefighters will not be allowed to Facebook, tweet, or blog anything relating to their job.

About two years ago, a firefighter posted a picture to Facebook while responding to a call. That picture violated HIPAA laws.

The South Bend fire chief said they're now taking precaution with a new social media policy, saying it's better to be safe than sorry.

But the union said this new rule might spark a fiery debate.

"All we're asking is don't put anything with the South Bend Fire Department on your Facebook," said Chief Howard Buchanon.

For some firefighters, a new policy is putting out the flame on their social networking capabilities.

The South Bend Board of Public Safety approved a handful of new rules in July — one specifically says, "Firefighters shall not, unless granted permission by the fire chief, identify themselves in any way as South Bend Fire Department employees on internet sites."

"We're just trying to be proactive and stay ahead of the game, to keep all the firefighters from not getting in any trouble, not only with the fire department, but saying things they shouldn't be saying," Buchanon said.

But the union fired back saying there are too many gray areas to move forward with the new rule:

"For instance, I am sure the chief did not intend that simply filling out a product registration form would subject a firefighter to discipline,” said Todd Skwarcan, vice president of IAFF Local 362. “However under the current wording that is what could happen if a firefighter shares his profession because the change demands strict secrecy as to our place of employment on any internet site…protecting the privacy of our coworkers and the public we serve is of the utmost importance. Finding a written policy that does that is the hard part, and several of these proposals go too far.”

"The trend around the country is certainly for public safety employees to have some sort of policy that tells them what is OK or not ok to put on their social networking sites," said Chief John Vance from Clay Fire.

Vance said his department's social media restrictions aren't as strict as South Bend's, but he understands their need to control content on the web.

"People do expect more out of public safety personnel in particular and we want them to hold that high standard," Vance said.

The new policy takes effect on September 1 for all South Bend firefighters.

But the unions said it won't take effect until they sit down with the fire chief to better understand what's at stake.

WSBT spoke with Mishawaka and Elkhart — they both said they haven't felt the need to enforce social media rules to this extreme just yet.

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