Fire Department New York’s Amazing One-Woman Twitter Response

Image From: Twitter

Fire Department New York (FDNY) Twitter response team won praise for its quick and timely response during Hurricane Sandy. But, the person who deserves all the praise is undoubtedly FDNY’s social media manager Emily Rahimi.

 The one-woman response team monitored Twitter throughout the night to help people during the superstorm. Emily, a seven-year veteran at the FDNY told residents to call 911 if they needed emergency assistance. She tweeted:

Please call 911 only in cases of emergency. For other services please call 311. #Sandy #NYC

— FDNY (@FDNY) October 30, 2012

Because the response effort was divided among different city government agencies, calling 911 allowed dispatchers to decide their line of action instead of every request going to the fire department.

PLEASE NOTE: *Do not* tweet emergency calls. Please call 911. If it is not an emergency, please call 311. #NYC #Sandy

— FDNY (@FDNY) October 30, 2012

But those who were unable to access a phone, Rahimi was there to offer help. An example of this was witnessed when New York Times investigative reporter Michael Luo contacted FDNY for help. He tweeted:

My friends' parents who are trapped on #StatenIsland are at 238 Weed Ave. Water almost up to 2nd flr. #sandy cc @fdny

— Michael Luo (@michaelluo) October 30, 2012

Within minutes Rahimi tweeted her response saying:

@michaelluo @janeng309 I have contacted dispatch. They will try to send help as soon as they can.

— FDNY (@FDNY) October 30, 2012

In addition to this Rahimi also provided people with much-needed voice of support while victims of Hurricane Sandy waited for help to arrive.

A Twitter user with the account name @bklyndafna posted:

@fdny @jumaanewilliams a volunteer's brother is trapped in 301 oriental blvd apt 4h can u help us?

— dafna(@bklyndafna) October 30, 2012

Rahimi on finding out that 911 was out of reach tweeted:

@bklyndafna That area is busy now. Units are working as quickly/safely as possible. Will make sure dispatch is on it. Keep in touch with him

— FDNY (@FDNY) October 30, 2012

The FDNY Twitter feed is full of interaction between distressed people and how the FDNY has guided and supported them in these times.

The account is active and constantly providing updates about Hurricane Sandra as well as helping those who are stranded.