Upper Leacock Fire Company SOG's

Section 19    Public Information Guideline
 

1.    A Chief Officer, Incident Commander, or Public Information Officer is permitted under this policy to release information concerning an incident to the public/media.

2.    NO ONE is permitted to release information concerning an incident to the public/media without a Chief Officer or Incident Commanders permission.

3.    NO ONE will speculate on the cause of an incident to the public/media. Only known FACTS should be released to the media provided that it does not compromise any investigations.

4.    Anyone approached by the public/media SHALL be directed to the Incident Commander or command post.

5.    Information on victims such as names and extent of injuries will not be released especially on vehicle accident fatalities.

6.    A Chief Officer or Incident Commander may elect to assume the role as the Public Information Officer on the scene of a small scale incident. The Fire Chief, Fire Company President, or their designee are the only persons authorized to release information to the public/media during a fundraising event or other Fire Company functions

7.    A Chief Officer or Incident Commander may appoint anyone to serve as a Public Information Officer at anytime during an incident.

8.    The duties of the Public Information Officer are in accordance with the Incident Command system and include, but are not limited to the following:

• Prepare and release information to the public/media as authorized by the Incident Commander
• Coordinate news releases with other impact agencies including facility spokes persons and the Police Department
• Shall appoint a secondary Public Information Officer and will command their activities and releases as needed

9.    Information gathered and placed on an incident report by a Chief Officer or Incident Commander is an official document and SHALL be safe guarded.

10.    Anyone or any agency requesting a copy of an incident report must complete the following:

• A letter shall be submitted to the Fire Chief on company letterhead requesting information contained on the incident report along with a reason for wanting a copy of that information
• Along with the request letter shall be a check for the amount of $15.00 made payable to the Upper Leacock Fire Company. This fee is for service charges and administrative charges.

11.    Incident reports are not for public view. In the event that someone inquires about an incident report, this policy should be explained. In the event that the person requesting that information is not satisfied with your explanation of our policy, you SHALL refer this person to the Fire Chief.

12.    Any Request for a copy or information of any incident report will require an Incident Report Dissemination log.

13.    The Incident Report Dissemination Log SHALL be maintained by the Fire Chief ONLY.

14.    Copies of incident reports will be made upon written request. All copies shall be documented and all information requested on the form shall be maintained.

15.    Only the following people are permitted to retrieve information from the East Lampeter Township Police Department:

• Fire Chief
• Deputy Fire Chief
• Assistant Chief
• President
• Board of Trustees
• Membership Committee

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Page last edited: 03/12/06

© Upper Leacock Fire Company 2003