When the Ipswich Fire Department launched its new website, IpswichFire.com, Chief Paul J. Parisi made a decisive move: separating from the confines of a town website and creating a standalone digital hub for his department. The result is not only a sleek, mobile-optimized public safety platform—but a textbook example of 21st-century communication in action.
“We recently contracted John Guilfoil Public Relations to redesign our website after realizing it was stale and stiff… They had great ideas, a talented photographer, and were willing to go out of their way to provide an excellent customer experience for us… Our experience with the team at JGPR was outstanding. We look forward to working with them on our next project.”
— Chief Paul J. Parisi, Ipswich Fire Department
Are you ready for your own website? Contact JGPR today.
Why Separate Websites for Fire Departments Are Essential
1. Crisis and Emergency Response preparedness
Fire departments must be able to publish alerts on everything from evacuations, to read closures, to severe weather advisories notices immediately. Many municipal websites are bogged down by bureaucratic workflows or shared control across multiple departments, which delays critical updates.
FEMA’s Basic Public Information Officer guidance stress that in emergencies, public information officers must have direct control of incident-related communications, ideally through a dedicated website structure. Most city/town websites feature complex layouts, with fire departments buried under several clicks through categories and departments, and no dedicated news feed or blog system. This makes it hard to post and highlight timely news updates.
The DHS “Innovative Uses of Social Media in Emergency Management” report highlighted fire department websites as places to engage the public and upload timely content during wildfires or other public safety incidents, finding out that fire department websites “greatly improved its ability to share timely information with the public.”
2. Operational Control and Autonomy
Under ICS and JIC frameworks, PIOs must be able to post updates without going through municipal IT or communication staff. Federal public information officer guidelines reinforce the need for separate digital channels under public safety control. A department-run website allows exactly that.
3. Audience Expectations and Accessibility
A fire department is a brand. It needs an online identity that’s simple, direct, and separate from the town clerk, zoning board of appeals, or public works. IpswichFire.com allows residents and media to find:
- Burn permit rules
- Call logs
- Emergency alerts
- Fire and life safety education
- Department history and contact info
- The latest news and incident-specific news releases
—all without navigating a massive, sprawling municipal website.
4. Constituent Reach — though official department website platforms
Many city and town websites fail to serve all community members effectively.
Additionally, Twitter/X is no longer a reliable stand-in for official messaging through websites. Social media comes and goes and is subject to the whims of its corporate owners any algorithm changes. An “official fire department website” is always yours and always official.
5. Professional Image and Recruitment
A modern, responsive website reflects a modern fire service. Departments with their own domains can showcase high-resolution photos, display job openings, and tell their own story, and the stories of its members. This improves morale and aids recruitment—especially for small, rural or call/volunteer departments facing staffing shortages.
Is your department ready to take command of its messaging? We manage hundreds of public safety websites coast-to-coast. Contact JGPR today.