Austin fire chief temporarily bans helmet cameras

- Austin-American Statesman, 10/11

-Local Level

- Health/Safety

- This issue directly affects EMS staff, but can also affect citizens who interact with EMS.

- Citizens should be concerned with this issue because cameras on fire helmets have pros and cons. Citizens should evaluate the consequences and determine if the consequences are worth the policy. 

- I chose to read this article for a few reasons. First of all, it's nice to read about local news verse nationwide news. And, I'm getting tired of reading about the government shutdown. The largest motivator for reading this article comes from my experience working in the EMS field. For four years I worked as a paramedic on an Ambulance. We had cameras in our car and they would turn on during an accident or when our breaks were turned on with too much force. The "drive cam" was good and bad. If we got in an accident and it wasn't our fault then we could prove it. However, if we got in an accident and we did something stupid, they could prove it. 

Also, as a medic you get called to many public locations to provide medical care. This isn't something you see everyday so naturally you gain some on-lookers. But in recent years with the increase in technology, such as camera phones, these on-lookers feel the need to film EVERYTHING YOU DO. Relating this to the article, I don't know that cameras on helmets are a good idea because of the anxiety it brings to the job. When you feel that "big brother" is watching i think your judgement changes. Instead of focusing on the correct decision you begin to focus on the footage being filmed, and what would look best. 

The article mentions that the fire chief is waiting to see how the footage will be used. This has many grey areas because they have to consider the firefighters using the footage on social media, showing their friends and family the cool car wreck they had the day before. Or, will HIPAA become involved and determine the cameras have to be turned off when inside a patients home, or office, etc. 

However, the footage can also be used to help the fire department with training. When going through training in any job you get an outdated video that is staged. If real life videos were available to life and learn from, then perhaps the helmet cameras are a good idea. 

Overall I'm glad that a policy is being evaluated. And, I'm glad that the cameras have been removed until a firm policy has been reached.