PIO Life with Erik Scott

LAFD Public Information Officer & Captain Erik Scott joins us to talk about what a PIO is and does. We learn what it's like to be responsible for the messaging and social media brand of one of the most recognized Fire Departments in the world. We talk about special duty, all of the jobs you can do besides firefighting in the LAFD & Captain Scott shares his own injury story surviving a roof collapse in a structure fire that landed him on special duty assignments. He tells us how the Public Information section is broken down depending on the incident or issues, which incidents warrant an alert vs a press release, who decides what to post on the official social media accounts, & who monitors all of the content generated by fire department members? We hear about the challenges of this job, being sent to major incidents from home, being a contact point for the news media, & how that plays into responding to tragic events. We also cover the lighter side of FD social media, "selling soap", First Amendment auditors, hashtag watchers, & more. Plus we make our mom happy by not cursing at all in this episode.