By KEN CARR
We all have our reasons for being firefighters. Whether it is fulfillment of a lifelong dream or ambition, the inherent need to help people, or the calling of community service or pride, you have made a conscious decision to become part of an elite group of individuals. And whether you are career or volunteer, you are doing what you do by choice. There are undeniable constants that come with being a firefighter, one of which is the duty to respond. Let’s look at the phrase “the duty to respond.” What immediately comes to mind when you hear that phrase is, when the tones drop you respond to what is perceived to be an emergency by someone in need.
Another type of response you must acknowledge is the need for fire and life safety education; as a firefighter, you have a duty to respond to this need as well. Public fire and life safety education should be as important as hazard mitigation. Unfortunately, this is not a popular concept among most firefighters.
The fire service is forced to do more with less because of economics. Just as was the case 30 years ago when the fire service began responding to medical calls to keep stations open, the fire service needs to become more proactive when it comes to delivering life safety messages to survive. These messages need to be delivered to all we have a duty to protect.
Regardless of one’s political views on immigration and naturalization, the world in which we live and respond is one of multicultural diversity. The residents in these multicultural, diverse communities are entitled to fire and life safety education they can understand and use.
Whether you serve in an urban, a suburban, or a rural area, there are people who have a different belief structure or understand a language different from the one in which you will deliver your fire and life safety messages. Nonetheless, you have a duty to respond to the educational needs of all; to say the least, this is a daunting task.
The Language Barrier
What are the challenges that the fire service faces when it comes to educating multiculturally diverse populations? The first and most obvious challenge is language. Few of us have responded to a call where we didn’t face a language barrier; in an emergency situation, this is inevitable. That is why it is so important that you provide fire and life safety education lessons in a language that all residents in your jurisdiction will understand. If you wait until you are on the scene of an emergency to realize that there is a language barrier, you have not properly prepared for your response.
Preparing for incidences or delivering educational messages where you may encounter non-English speaking individuals is challenging. First, you must determine the languages spoken by all of the residents in your jurisdiction. Resources such as the Web site for the United States Census Bureau can be very helpful when you start researching your area’s non-English speaking populations. The Census Bureau’s Web site breaks down information into categories that will allow you to customize your search criteria. It will take some time to navigate all of the information, but it is a valuable research tool.
Another resource you can use is the American Red Cross. Your local chapter of the Red Cross can typically inform you of any non-English speaking groups in your area. Also effective and invaluable is going out into your community and seeking out business owners and churches that have non-English speaking patrons and parishioners. This will not only alert you to the at-risk populations but also afford you the opportunity to get some firsthand knowledge and, more importantly, meet with the members of the communities you want to reach. Once you have determined the cultural makeup of your jurisdiction, you can begin to formulate an action plan.
Putting a Plan in Action
Your action plan should be the same as it would be for any other public education programs your department already has in place. First, determine which messages you want to deliver and to what at-risk groups. Determine this by reviewing data gathered from call logs. The data you collect will give information such as geographic location of calls, the nature of the calls, and the age groups affected. Also, look beyond incidents involving fire. The bulk of calls in most departments today are medical in nature.
Develop fire and life safety programs that teach fire safety and safety in general. Poisoning, scalding, pool safety, trip and fall hazards are just some of the messages you can bring.
Once you have determined the target audience and the message, translate your educational materials into the languages of your target audiences. Do not try to “reinvent the wheel” with this action plan. Some larger metropolitan fire departments throughout the country have fire and life safety messages already translated into several languages.
Other options include free online translation services. However, use caution if you intend to use a translation service. Sometimes, when you translate English phrases or sentences into another language, some words may not properly translate in the requested language. When using any of these resources, have someone fluent in the translated language review the material. If you have done some groundwork in the community, you should be able to find people willing to look at the material. It is necessary that the material be easily understood, grammatically correct, and factually accurate. If you are fortunate enough to have people within your organization who speak languages other than English, use their expertise.
Understanding the complex issue of cultural perspective is paramount to a successful program. As a presenter of education materials, you have, through no fault of your own, only one perspective: an American viewpoint.
When educational materials are presented in western culture, it is common for the presenter to ask students if the message has been understood and if they have any questions. If someone has not understood, he will ask questions. In some cultures, however, the same inquiry will be met with silence, and no one will ask any questions not because they understand but because asking a question of a person of authority (you will be viewed as such by many cultures) is a sign of disrespect to the presenter.
Changing Your Perspective
Another barrier is perspective. Most Americans welcome information that can be used to minimize injuries from dangerous activities. Some cultures believe that if an incident occurs and causes an injury, this is the work of a higher power and cannot or should not be prevented. Reaching out to find the individuals considered leaders in culturally diverse communities is a good way to gain trust and understanding from the community members you wish to reach. The duty to respond, especially when it comes to presenting effective fire and life safety messages to multicultural, diverse audiences, takes on a whole new light.
Delivering programs to diverse cultures is a challenge, but there are several advantages to delivering those programs. First, you will satisfy the fire service’s number one goal: saving lives. You will also broaden your knowledge of the diverse groups of people with whom you share this planet and will help people who often feel like strangers in their surroundings to feel more at home.
KEN CARR is a 43-year fire service veteran and the fire marshal with the rank of battalion chief for a career department in South Carolina, where he has served for the past 25 years. He heads the fire department’s fire prevention bureau in a city of about 35,000 residents. Carr was also an 18-year member of the Warwick (NY) Fire Department.
Related Links
Backdrafts to Backboards: Bridging the Gap with Your Diverse Community
Public Education: The Fire Service and Social Media: Time to Get Engaged
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