An abridged version of this article recently appeared in the Ohio Fire Corps Newsletter. It is included here in its entirety.
In 1974 many fire service professionals first read the publication America Burning. Much of what was learned has resulted in reduced fire losses across the nation. Better information exchange, a national fire data system, grants for fire protection plans, the USFA, the National Fire Academy, and focus on major public-education programs were but a few of the 90 recommendations. Using the three E’s (engineering, enforcement, education), we have reduced the number of fires that start, the number of buildings that are damaged by fire, and of course, the number of people that are injured or killed by fire.
Ohio fire departments seemed to be at their peak for coordinating fire and life safety education in the 1980s and ’90s. They created programs. They assigned personnel to public awareness campaigns and class delivery. They realized a decrease in unwanted fire loss, death and injury statistics.
It now seems that many of the agencies that provided exceptional safety education in their communities have dropped the effort in favor of staffing more fire engines, reducing call times and upgrading apparatus. Yes, reduced call times are important, but they rarely make the difference in saving a life during a house fire. Even when our response times are “excellent” we all know that the conditions in a house fire are deadly in just a few minutes. Ideally, people should be prepared, not found helpless waiting for rescue.
Well-staffed fire departments are crucial to a community’s well-being. So is a well-trained community. Engineering is important. It reduces the number of fires that might have become more deadly if not for smoke alarms, sprinkler systems, compartmentalized spaces, and well-designed construction. Enforcement is key in making sure that the engineering is sound and the environment is kept free of hazards. Education must be a component of the “three Es” as much as any of the other concepts, yet it is the first to go when the budgets become stressed.
America Burning was revisited in December 2000. The new document, titled America Burning Recommissioned, America at Risk: Findings and Recommendations on the Role of the Fire Service in the Prevention and Control of Risks in America showed that the concern is still valid. A section of the document states,
“Today's fire departments have responsibilities extending well beyond the traditional fire hazard. The fire service is a community's primary responder to not only fires but also almost all local hazards. Firefighters, who too frequently expose themselves to unnecessary risk, and the communities they serve, would all benefit if the approach to avoiding loss from fires and other hazards was equal to the dedication shown in firefighting and rescue operations.”
Fire chiefs often tell us that “they can’t afford fire safety education”. They say “our call load is so high we have to focus on getting more people on the apparatus. We can’t keep up.” To offer perspective, we can’t afford to avoid community safety education. Even the 16 initiatives of “Everyone Goes Home” point to decreased danger to our crews when we have a safer community through public education. The oft-forgotten number 14 reads, “Public education must receive more resources and be championed as a critical fire and life safety program.”
In a time when budgets are being cut, fire chiefs are being told to eliminate over-time and fire houses are being “browned out” or closed, it seems that we need to do everything possible to ensure that we have a safer community. It is often documented that agencies with strong safety education programs actually realize increases in available funds. These are provided through community support, grants, and volunteer advocates that support and help to maintain the programs. Apparatus costs are decreased, repair costs drop, gear replacement is needed less frequently, firefighter injury costs decrease. All of this contributes to a decreased bottom line.
Q. How does one provide safety education without increasing the labor costs to the organization?
A. Remember that every firefighter is a safety educator, though they may not be trained to do it. How often does a citizen stop a crew to ask questions about their smoke alarms or what to do with that old fire extinguisher they’ve never used? Does the crew have the right answers? Time on the job doesn’t make one a knowledgeable safety educator no more than it makes one a qualified line officer. A bit of effort must be done to be sure the information is correct.
Q. Where can a department find the information needed to help existing staff become better qualified?
A. Free online training is available from many sources: Vision 20/20 at strategicfire.org is one example. Another is the Expert Network Academy. Even the NFPA now offers free training resources to help fire and life safety education better reach the public. And don’t discount networking with other fire departments and agencies.
Still don’t think you can use existing personnel to do safety education? Consider enlisting the help of community safety advocates. Many people want to do something to help the fire department and the community, but they may have no interest or are physically unable to fight fires or provide EMS. They often have skills and knowledge that would benefit safety education efforts. Fire Corps offers ways to coordinate, educate and sometimes fund your advocacy program.
The Ohio Division of State Fire Marshal, Fire Prevention Bureau, is even hosting a FREE Fire and Life Safety Education workshop on Saturday, April 28 at the Ohio Fire Academy in Reynoldsburg. Interested in attending? Contact me at richard.palmer@com.state.oh.us.
When you are not teaching your community to be more safe before the fire happens, you will continue to ask yourself “What could we have done better?” each time you respond to a fire fatality. Retired Tualatin Valley Fire Chief (OR) and former IAFC President Jeff Johnson has asked, “If you are the only agency they can call, how dare you be anything but the best?”
