Issue 19

One sentence. Five words. Zero context.

Practical PIO analyzes real social media posts to help you improve your communications. All identifying details are blurred or removed because our goal is growth, not criticism.

Every fire department that’s ever posted on social media has done this at least once: the dispatch shorthand makes it to Facebook without any translation for neighbors.

This week’s post is a good reminder of why that matters—and how easy it is to fix.

Full text

Here’s the full text so you can follow along (or in case the image doesn’t load):

That’s it. Nothing more.

✅ What works well

✅ Timely communication. Posting during an active response shows the department understands social media’s role in real-time community awareness. That instinct—get something out fast—is the right one.

✅ Clear incident type. “Structure fire” immediately signals severity and sets expectations. Neighbors understand this is a serious call.

🛠️ What could be improved

Big picture

🛠️ Lead with outcomes—or at least orientation. Even during an active response, neighbors have one immediate question: Are people in danger near me? A single sentence like “Units from [Department] are responding to a structure fire in [City/area]” gives location context, names the responding agency, and frames the situation—without any extra effort.

🛠️ Include a call to action. This post describes a response but asks nothing of the reader. When apparatus is moving, the most valuable thing a department can tell neighbors is how to help: “If you’re in the area, please move to the right and stop to allow emergency vehicles to pass.” That one sentence can clear a route faster than any siren.

🛠️ Name the department. “Assist [County]” tells readers who was called—not who’s posting. Someone scrolling past doesn’t know which department runs this page. Starting with the department’s name builds recognition and context simultaneously.

Nitty gritty

🛠️ Watch capitalization. “Assist [County] with Structure Fire”—capitalizing “Structure Fire” treats it like a proper noun. In a public post, it’s a common noun describing a situation: “structure fire,” lowercase.

🛠️ Avoid leading with an imperative verb. Opening with “Assist” reads like an internal dispatch log. Releases and public posts should narrate; they shouldn’t bark orders at the reader. Reframe as a statement of action: “[Department] is assisting...” or “Units are responding...”

🛠️ Translate mutual aid for neighbors. “Assist [County]” is mutual-aid terminology. Most residents don’t know what that means operationally. “Responding alongside [County] units” or simply “[Department] and [County] units are responding” says the same thing in plain language.

Practical PIO version

Here’s a version that lets residents know what’s going on and what action they should take:

Teaching note: Three sentences. The first answers “what’s happening and where.” The second gives neighbors something to do. The third signals that more information is coming—which manages expectations and reduces repeat inquiries. The whole thing takes under 30 seconds to write and covers everything the original post missed.

Does your department have a social media protocol for active responses—or is it whoever-gets-to-it-first? Hit reply and let me know—I read every email.

Tool update

The Practical PIO beta remains open for testing. If you signed up for beta access but haven’t tried it yet, I’d love your feedback—even if it’s just plugging in a past incident to see how it works.