The Public Information Section is unique in both structure and function within the department. The section has a Captain and a full time Public Information Officer (PIO), along with a specially trained cadre to assist when needed. The section reports to the Fire Chief and Command Staff and is located at Fire Headquarters.

Getting the correct message out during an emergency in the 24-hr news cycle is crucial to keeping the public informed. The PIO section utilizes multiple social media platforms to achieve this. Primarily, Twitter is used for breaking news on incidents, while community news, public service announcements, and general feature news is presented via the department’s Facebook or Instagram accounts.

The primary responsibility of the PIO is to communicate the efforts of the department to the eyes and ears of the citizens of the county. At emergencies, the PIO manages media needs by providing complete, accurate and timely information.

This department pursues, cultivates, and encourages news media relations with the philosophy that news-gathering agencies perform a vital public service in providing information that the public has a right to know.

The term “Code 20” is a radio designation indicating that an incident is potentially newsworthy, arouses public interest, or cause public impact. A Code 20 alerts the media via text message and advises them of the nature, location, call-time, and any other significant facts about an incident.