A Washington State fire department is learning crisis management on the fly as it copes with an underage drinking incident involving several of its high-ranking members with a major funding vote approaching. While the response from the department’s Chief shows that he is aware of some of the tenets of both crisis and reputation management, not following through 100% may cost him. This quote from Dave Statter’s popular Fire/EMS blog STATter911 explains the situation:
Chief Tom Lique, aware that some in the public think the department keeps information from public view, is trying to use the fact that they are releasing the details just before the election as something positive. he told The Bellingham Herald, “I’m hoping the timeline here, as uncomfortable as it is, demonstrates that just because of the levy, I’m not trying to stonewall or hide this information.”
Now that sounds good but later in the article reporter Christian Hill writes that Chief Lique refuses to release the internal report on the incident. The actions don’t appear to support the chief’s words.
The old adage still stands true, actions speak louder than words. Because he refuses to release the department’s internal report of the incident, Chief Lique’s claim that he is striving for transparency looks like a lie, and regardless of his actual intent the media will take that misstep and run with it.
The BCM Blogging Team
https://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/