The Virginia Beach Fire Department Multimedia Production Unit was established in 1990 by Retired Master Firefighter Robert Anderson to create a vehicle to disseminate information using the television medium to the Frontline firefighters in Virginia Beach. The unit has grown into a fully operational television facility; to include a working studio and non-linear video editing suites. Programs which are produced include: Virginia Beach Frontline Firefighter, EMT Today, The Chief's Corner, The Virginia Beach Firewire News, and Safety Connection. All of these programs are written, shot, edited and produced by Virginia Beach Multimedia Production Unit, Firefighters and staff. They
are shown on several different cable channels. The programs are available to all of the citizens and visitors of Virginia Beach. The programs produced by this unit are also used by the National Fire Academy, EENET (Emergency Education Network) and National Alert - a program that is distributed to over 150 open cable systems in the United States and around the world. In addition to the television production projects, the Multimedia Production Unit also manages the Fire Departments Internet social networking, web site, and many other forms of multimedia communication.