Residents Get Insider's View of Evanston Fire Department

Evanston firefighters treated Twitter followers to Followers learned, for example, that firefighters pay part of the grocery bills for their shift meals, and got to see photos of the inside of a truck and the obligatory firefighter sliding down the station poll.

The goal of the 5-Alarm Tweet Along was to introduce residents to their firefighters and allow them to interact with the department staff. There wasn’t a ton of interaction as of early evening, but at least one firefighter dad tweeted in to say hello.

As of early evening, there also weren’t any blazes or major accidents that the department rushed off to. Instead, followers got a glimpse into the every day activities of the staff.

Here’s a sampling of some of the Tweets:

Possible fire, call come in at ~7:56am. Guys gear up & check home in question. Alarm was set off by kitchen smoke. pic.twitter.com/5QOVGTf7

Firefighters not only prepare their meals but also pay a preset amount out of pocket for groceries for every shift they work.

FF/MD Trippi doing pull-ups & Capt. Perrino hitting the elliptical. Have to stay in shape & prepared. #Evanston5Alarm pic.twitter.com/NaIdFlmB

This is not the city’s first Tweet along. The police department hosted one in November and Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl held one in February. In all cases, the messages were hosted on the @CityofEvanston Twitter feed.

Are you a Twitter addict? You should follow us @EvanstonPatch. Our Facebook page is pretty swell, too.