Mendon Mass Fire Rescue Department Social Media Mission Statement
The Mendon Mass Fire Rescue Department wants to share and connect with the residents and business community of Mendon Mass. The Mendon Mass Fire Rescue Department embraces social media as a forum to educate, inform, release pertinent information, increase access to department services and encourage community engagement and community awareness. Social media provides real time method for information transmission. The Mendon Mass Fire Rescue Department makes every effort to adhere to social media best practices in order to most effectively meet these goals. Mendon Mass Fire Rescue Department Social Media Guidelines
This policy exists to provide guidance and best practices, rules and regulations for the use of the Mendon Mass Fire Rescue Departments social media sites (including but not limited to Facebook and Twitter). Due to the rapidly evolving world of social media, these guidelines are subject to change. The intended purpose of establishing an official Mendon Mass Fire Rescue Department social media presence is to broadcast, announce and share official information that is useful to the public and the citizens and business community of the Town of Mendon Mass. The Mendon Mass Fire Rescue Departments social media sites are subject to the approval of the Fire Chief or his designees. All department social media sites shall be administered by the Fire Chief or his designee. This person(s) will be the administrator for the social media sites and will work directly with officers of the department. The Fire Chief or his designee shall monitor social media sites for comments/requests and for comments that violate this policy. The Fire Rescue Departments social media sites should make clear that they are maintained by the Mendon Mass Fire Rescue Department and that they follow the departments Social Media Policy. The Mendon Mass Fire Rescue Department reserves the right to restrict or remove any content that is deemed in violation of this Social Media Policy. Comments and postings not relative to official Town business may be removed at the discretion of the Fire Rescue Department. Employees representing the Mendon Mass Fire Rescue Department via the social media sites must conduct themselves at all times as a representative of the Town and Department in accordance with all Town and Department policies. This social media account is not the appropriate channel to report issues or concerns or to file a complaint. The Mendon Mass Fire Rescue Departments web site, www.mendonpublicsafety.com has a section specifically for reporting issues, complaints or questions titled “Contact Us”. The Mendon Mass Fire Rescue Department expects all conversations to follow the rules of polite discourse and asks that participants treat each other, as well as our employees, with respect. Comments may be monitored and may be subject to removal at the discretion of the Mendon Mass Fire Rescue Department. Certain comments will not be permitted based on inappropriate comments containing, but not limited to, any of the following:
a. Comments not related to the original post or topic
b. Profane, obscene, violent or pornographic content and/or language
c. Content that promotes discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, or national origin
d. Defamatory or personal attacks
e. Comments relative to political campaigns
g. Solicitation
h. Violations of any federal, state or local law
i. Illegal activity
The Mendon Mass Fire Rescue Department reserves the right to deny access to the Fire Rescue Departments social media sites for any individual who violates the Departments Social Media Policy. Any person(s) comment(s) that violate the Departments Social Media Policy will not only be removed but the person posting the comment will be blocked/banned from the social media site at the Departments discretion. Any comments deemed to be a threat to any town officials, employees, citizens, local business etc. are taken in a serious manor and may be subject for review by the authorities. Release of Information
Official Mendon Mass Fire Rescue Department information approved for release should be publicized first via official accounts (including the official Mendon Mass Fire Rescue Departments web site, Facebook, Twitter, Town of Mendon Mass web site, Cable Television, BlackBoard, and other outreach mechanisms employed by the Town), not via an employee’s personal account. Employees may share a piece of content once it has originated from the official social media channel. The focus of “posts” or “tweets” shall be to inform the public of an emergency activity, crew training, information of public concern, or other general happenings of the Mendon Mass Fire Rescue Department. The departments page is automatically linked to Twitter. Pictures of emergency scenes may be taken:
After all patients have been removed / transported and the emergency scene has been completely mitigated. By the Officer in Charge or their designee. Pictures of emergency scenes that are posted to social media will never contain any of the following:
Blood or bodily fluids
Patient identifiers
Face
Clothing (intact or soiled)
Public Records Retention
As a general rule, Mendon Mass Fire Rescue Departments social media accounts are subject to the Massachusetts Public Records Law (Chapter 7, Section 4, and Clause 26). Any content maintained in a social media format that is related to Department or other Town business, or that is developed or used for approved business purposes, including a list of subscribers and posted communication, is a public record and subject to public disclosure.
