At Wednesday’s news conference with reporters, some in the media got steamed over D.C.’s Fire and EMS Twitter account going dark for the better part of the month.
The city’s FEMS was shut down, they complained. And not only that, but police are also encrypting their radios because of problems with hackers so now the media is blocked from police scanners.
Fire Chief Kenneth Ellerbe immediately stepped up to clarify — the Twitter account was NOT shut down, he said. It’s just the person who managed that account had gone on vacation.
Um, we hope that’s the only FEMS job that pauses when someone goes on vacay.
Actually, that wasn’t the only reason, Ellerbe later said. But officials declined to say more about why it went dark after Aug. 30.
Needless to say, @fireemsdc cheerfully Tweeted just after 1 p.m. Thursday: “We’re baaack! — Be Aware, Be Informed, Be Prepared. — Please Check Your Smoke Alarms — it’s the simplest thing you can do to keep safe.”
