Department Knows the Difference in Public Education and Public Relations

Department Knows the Difference in Public Education and Public Relations

Photos by James F. Gerber

The Alden, N.Y., Hook and Ladder Fire Co., Inc., like many departments throughout the nation, has been involved in fire prevention. For the last 10 years most of the activity centered on Fire Prevention Week in October or consisted of single visits to an occasional class or group.

But after talking about what had been done and reading several articles on the subject of fire prevention, it was clear that our programs really weren’t fire prevention instruction but rather were community public relations programs about the fire department. Coupled with this awareness was the reestablishment of law808 in New York State requiring 45 minutes per month of fire prevention instruction in the classroom.

Fire Chief David Fox selected a group of volunteers to create a fire prevention program for the fifth-graders of the Alden Elementary School that would be about one hour in length and be completed in five weeks, one lesson per week. (Later the program was expanded to seven weeks.)

The members of the committee had varied backgrounds, as often is the case in a volunteer fire company. There was a pharmaceutical salesman, a Xerox technician, a physician’s assistant, and three public school teachers. The teachers, however, did not participate in the actual fire prevention instruction.

The planning was completed in midJanuary. The plan included a set of objectives, weekly lesson plans, film, film-strip and slide selections. “Fire Safety Doesn’t Hurt—Burns Do!’’ was selected for the program’s theme.

Test questions

After the program was on paper, a test was created based on the home fire safety information to be covered. Both short answer and essay-type questions were included. A sampling of the questions asked are:

Multiple choice

When reporting a fire that is burning in your house you should phone:

1. from your house because it is quickest.
2. go to a neighbor’s house.
3. either a or b is all right to do.
4. none of the above.
5. When planning a home fire escape plan you should:
6. plan two escapes from every room.
7. have smoke detectors in your home for earliest possible warning.
8. have a central meeting place for everyone outside the house.
9. all of the above.

Curriculum

Week 1:

Pre-test

Week 2:

1. Introduction to program
2. Flammable materials demonstration
3. Reporting a fire or any emergency
4. Question: What is your fire district phone?
5. Assignment: Fire hazard check list

Week 3:

1. Follow-up on phone numbers and check lists
2. What happens when you call? (Video-tape of about 6 minutes)
3. Household, recreational, occupational hazards
4. Flammable liquids, materials, electrical and hazardous situations
5. Burn-causing agents and situations Assignment: Send home fire hazard check list again

Week 4:

1. Fire mechanics (fire triangle)
2. Review fire reporting
3. False alarms, dangers to fire personnel
4. False alarms, dangers to public and the penalties involved Assignment: Fire escape plan

Weeks 5 & 6:

1. Effects of fire (slides of exterior and interior of structures involved in fires)
2. Effects of burns
3. Discussion of the three phases a burn victim goes through as opposed to the three phases an accident victim goes through

Assignment: Fire escape plan reviewed

Week 7:

Post-test and film

Modified true/false

Write true if the bold-faced words make the statement true. If the boldfaced words make the statement false place the word or words in the blank that makes the statement true.

A grease fire starts in a frying pan on your kitchen stove. To put it out, pick it up and carry it to the sink or outside.

It is best to sleep at night with your bedroom door closed.

Essay question

You enter a building and the odor of natural gas is very strong. What two dangers are you faced with right away and what are the first three steps you must take right away?

The test was administered as a pretest one week before the classroom work started and as a post-test given on the last week prior to the film.

Fifth-graders taught

The program was taught in classroom settings to all three fifth-grade sections in the building, starting with the pre-test on February 26 and ending Thursday, April 9.

The actual instruction was conducted by Camile Eaton, Kathy Greis and Greg Czajka, after Chief Fox introduced the program in the first class session (the second session of the program). The three instructors were in the room at all times to guarantee continuity between slides, films, charts, blackboard work and general discussion. Only one person directed the individual class, so in essence every session had a single teacher and two aids.

Since state law in New York requires certified teachers present during any instruction, the individual grade teachers also remained throughout the entire seven-week program and were asked to submit critical evaluations. The comments were many and varied.

Test scores improved

The test results were very interesting. In the first testing situation in February (75 students tested), the average score was 59.3 percent correct for the short answer questions. On the post-test of the same students (except five out for illness), the short answer score averaged 92.3 percent correct. On the essay questions the pre-test scores averaged 59.3 percent. The post-test scores improved to 84.6 percent correct.

The children gained much information about home fire safety and so did their parents, according to the feedback we received. A possible lesson next time would bring parents and their children together for an evaluation of their home fire escape plans.