At All Times, Service Above Self

The Los Angeles Fire Department E-Newsletter System by Brian Humphrey LAFD Firefighter/Paramedic Dear Friend of the LA Fire Department: Now is our "once-a-year" opportunity to answer the ten most commonly asked questions about the Los Angeles Fire Department E-Newsletter system. Here's what you'll want to know:

Here are the answers:

1) People from all walks of life are among the 1500+ recipients of our E-Newsletter, which is distributed (and re-distributed) worldwide. You'd be surprised at some of the well-known people who harbor an interest in our agency.

2) Your privacy is paramount. The LAFD does not directly divulge the name or e-mail address of any E-Newsletter recipient. Our collective use of the Yahoo! system has its own terms of service and privacy policy:

http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms

http://privacy.yahoo.com

3) You are welcome to forward our information releases fully intact to any friend, colleague or group provided the information is offered gratis and that credit is given to the "Los Angeles Fire Department". We would appreciate your mentioning the LAFD E-Newsletter and offering the URL:

http://www.lafd.org/info.htm

4) Our messages are designed to inform you about major LAFD incidents, community events and seasonal safety. Incident Updates are typically created for Greater Alarm Structure Fires, Civilian Fatality Structure Fires, any single incident that requires 5 or more Ambulances to transport patients, all Brush or Grass Fires that consumes 8+ acres, cause injury or residential structure damage, Swift Water, Trench and other specialized Rescues, sizeable Hazardous Materials events...and other events that by their nature, location or news coverage, seem worthy of the public's attention. On average this past year, we created 15 messages a month.

5) The numbering of alarms (i.e. "Third Alarm Fire") is an archaic and non-standardized practice. What constitutes three alarms at one Fire Department may be a five alarm blaze at the next. The LAFD has therefore chosen to use the term "Greater Alarm" for any local incident in which seven or more Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters are assigned, committed and working.

6) Anyone is welcome to subscribe to the LAFD E-Newsletter by visiting:

http://www.lafd.org/info.htm

7) To change the type or schedule of your message delivery, please visit:

http://groups.yahoo.com/mygroups

8) For those tech savvy folks who have bothered to read this far, please allow me to share the great news about our new Blog and RSS Feeds. We are beta-testing a Web Log at:

http://www.lafd.org/blog.htm

...at that site, you'll see a link to our XML feed for RSS as well as the ability to add an LAFD News and Information module to your personal My Yahoo! page. That's right, you can now receive LAFD Incident Update information in a special module on your My Yahoo!. Though we remain committed to moving our tech content away from commercial services such as Yahoo! and Blogspot - we're thankful for their support. As soon as we get our new-technology offerings fully underway, we'll let you know!

9) Often people ask about small but significant events in their neighborhood. With nearly 2,000 LAFD responses each day, it is regretfully impossible for our one-person office to create and disseminate info for them all. If you are a Los Angeles resident with a routine but pressing need for information, please dial 3-1-1 to be connected with your Neighborhood Fire Station or seek our "Public Service Officer" for assistance. For more information about 3-1-1:

http://www.lafd.org/311.htm

PLEASE NOTE: The LAFD-owner@yahoogroups.com e-mail address is only for technical problems you may experience with the list. We regretfully cannot accept inquiries or official information requests at that address.

10) Unsubscribe information is included at the bottom of every message we send. You will also find unsubscribe information at the bottom of these web pages:

http://www.lafd.org/info.htm

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LAFD

Respectfully Yours in Safety and Service,

Brian Humphrey

Firefighter/Paramedic
Public Service Officer
Los Angeles Fire Department
E-Mail: beh9593@lafd.lacity.org

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Los Angeles Fire Department Home Page:
http://www.lafd.org

Subscribe to the LAFD Public Information E-Newsletter:
http://www.lafd.org/info.htm

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