In the recent weeks I have been researching how other areas handle the Press, for this writing this will be anyone from large TV news crews and photo journalists to YouTubers.
What I have seen is the press is largely ignored. The Public Service Members go about their work as they are not there. The Members walk past them, walk around them and for the most part say nothing. This is often inside any taped off sections and directly beside all the equipment and action. The press was all right up into it but yet out of the way. The press seen was TV news crews, photographers and YouTubers, not to mention all the regular people standing around with cellphones. The few instances I saw any interaction it was all positive. The Members would greet the Press and in some cases knew them. In one occasion the press was thanked for being there and filming the event as it helped them in their training and to document the actions on the scene. These included Departments from FDNY, Seattle, Worcester, Stockton, Newark Ohio, and Chicago with the majority being with FDNY.
Many of these fires were multiple alarm fires, mostly four alarm fires. One was a 10 alarm fire that was completely insane. So these agencies have multiple alarm fires, hundreds of Members on the scene, Apparatus in just as large numbers. (1) For a four alarm fire in the FDNY you would have 45 pieces of apparatus with an estimated 198 Members. Each following alarm would bring 6 pieces of apparatus and estimated 37 more Members. A 10 alarm fire could have 52 pieces of apparatus and 420 Members on scene. All that on a few New York streets in close proximity.
Yet with all this going on the press still is allowed to do their job. It’s almost as they are expected to be there. The majority of Departments in this writing are quite large with thousands of Members and hundreds of thousands of people they protect.
I wonder if this is why I receive such a negative reception compared to those in these major cities. The FDNY is used to people and Press being everywhere whereas small town Ohio is not. Small town Ohio Departments are in rural areas and in many cases are all Volunteers and not paid Professional Firefighters. ( I do not say this to derogate the volunteers as they are trained Firefighters) These department generally have smaller fires in comparisons to large compacted city’s and would draw a smaller Press response if for no other reason than a smaller Press corp. This does not excuse their actions, Police and Fire Departments should know the law and cannot make it up as they go, or deny because they don’t want to be photographed. I feel it is also a fine line to deny for safety, Too often government uses safety as a reason to keep one from doing something when in reality they just don’t want you there and have no other recourse. People with dangerous jobs know the risks, just like the Firefighters or the Police Officers. This doesn’t mean go running in a burning building or hang out in the collapse zone where you the Press may endanger someone else or disrupt the scene. Only time will tell how this will be in the future with the increasing government expansion into every aspect of life wanting to manage anything you do and Public Servants that think they get to tell everyone what to do every moment of the day.
Get close, get your shot, get your story and stay out of the way.
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(1)I was unable to ascertain a date on the information gathered, it may or my not be current of this writing and should only used for reference. -
Information in this article was gathered from countless hours of Youtube videographers on the ground in the listed cities watching their experiences. -
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Greg Parker Photography 