The Round Table
departments
Fire Prevention Education has been receiving increasing attention in recent years, particularly from the United States Fire Administration. As a consequence, many departments have Initiated or increased their fire prevention education programs. Is your department one of these? And, if so, what programs do you have either planned or ongoing?
Roger K. Purdie, Chief, Rialto, Calif.: During Fire Prevention Week, Rialto Fire Prevention Bureau, in conjunction with the Rialto Junior Women’s Club, goes into the elementary schools with fire safety films, bulletin boards and handouts. We use children’s films for grades K-3 and home inspection slide programs for grades 4-6. One bulletin board explains such dangerous items as matches, fireworks, extension cords, and the other board has fire safety messages on it.
In September, we have a special meeting with the local Cub Scouts leaders. We let them know what materials are available to us and them, for fire safety education programs. With their help, individual programs are put together for their dens, and we go out to their meetings and to the special programs.
We give programs at the high school level, regional, occupational programs, and kitchen programs. We have programs in our mobil parks on mobil fire safety. In the near future, we hope to be doing home inspections. The package is ready to go. The plan is to set aside one day a week for this new program.
Russell L. Livengood, Chief, Cumberland, Md.: The Cumberland Fire Department, Fire Prevention Bureau has been involved for many years with fire prevention programs with local industry, business, schools, nursing homes, hospitals, etc.
In August of 1979, we became involved in a new program directed to senior citizens. We hired six older citizens (3 men and 3 women) and initiated a 100-hour training program. They were trained in fire suppression, fire prevention and in inspection procedures by our department instructors. During Fire Prevention Week in October 1979, our trained inspectors began making inspections of the senior citizens’ homes. During the inspections, exit plans were developed and discussed with the occupants of the dwellings and apartments. Smoke detectors were purchased and installed by the local jaycees for those elderly persons with low incomes.
We obtained addresses of those senior citizens desiring a home survey by presenting our program at meetings of senior citizen organizations, social clubs, churches, meals on wheels and by working through the Local Human Resources Development Commission. For obvious reasons, the success of the program depended greatly on the publicity. Here in Cumberland, we had excellent cooperation from the local radio stations, newspapers and television station.
Jack Beckham, Fire Marshal, Deer Park, Tex.: This is a 70-member fully volunteer department with a 7-member Fire Prevention Department. Our fire prevention program covers the programs listed below for two high schools, two junior high schools, five elementary schools, five day care centers, one hospital, one elderly care center plus our city with a population of 30,000.
A one-hour presentation is made to all elementary schools during Fire Prevention Week. A fire truck is carried to all kindergarten classes and day care schools for a 30minute program. Three church schools bring their classes to visit the fire stations during Fire Prevention Week. We sponsor a fire prevention poster contest each year, and winners are selected from each school. We sponsor a fire truck parade each year in which 15-20 departments participate. Presentations are made during the year to all civic groups. We make a fire prevention display for the local fall festival each year. We are presently trying to get the local schools to include the new NFPA program into the 1980-81 secondary curriculum.
Ronald S. Jones, Chief, Cranston, R.I.: The Cranston Fire Department has instituted a new public fire education program in all elementary schools, both public and parochial. Our city has a population of 78,000 with 8500 students in grades K through 6. The program consists of slide presentations, films, and filmstrips accompanied by handout material. A fire prevention officer is assigned to a school on a certain day and he spends the entire day in that school with the students. By going around to individual classrooms, we keep the groups as small as possible, so the message will get across to the students on fire safety in both their homes and at school.
The students are taught what to do in the event of an alarm or a fire, and a drill is conducted by the fire inspector while at the school. Our fire department also has a program for housing for the elderly and handicapped, which consists of a lecture and handouts along with a fire drill to follow the lecture. The new program is being received very well throughout the city.
Eddie Lillis, Lt., Winchester, Va.: During 1979, the department reached 18,403 people through the Fire Safety Public Education Program. A six week program for fifth grade students in both the city and county school system are included in this number. The program, sponsored by the Independent Insurance Agents of Winchester, was successful in reaching not only the children, but the parents as well.
Last year the Winchester Lions Club and the Rotary Club donated over $2000 for the purchase of smoke detectors to be installed in the homes of the visual handicapped, elderly and the underprivileged. Also the smoke detectors are being installed in a high risk area of the city. During 1978, 48.6 percent of all dwelling fires responded to by the department were in this area. While installing these detectors, the department took advantage of the opportunity to not only install the detector, but to talk to the recipients about general fire safety, EDITH, and fire prevention. The department let the public know that we would install smoke detectors, and receives requests daily.
Local radio stations and newspapers have cooperated in giving time and space for the promotion of smoke detectors, fire safety tips and wood stove safety. As a result, we receive frequent requests from the public for inspections of wood stove installations; the same applies for chimneys and fireplaces. This affords us one more opportunity to promote fire safety in the home.
With the help of members on the Public Fire Safety Education Committee, which consists of paid and volunteer firemen, the department is able to conduct monthly classes in nursing homes, homes for the aged and the Winchester pre-school systems. There are also many other functions of the committee such as classes and talks to civic groups, clubs, scouting troops, etc. The requests increase monthly.
We feel the Public Fire Safety and Prevention Program in Winchester is a continuing program and we will improve as we go. The fire loss is down and fire alarms have decreased since the program started, however, there are many factors involved and it is too early to say just how much the program has affected these areas.
Jack J. Halverson, Chief, Billings, Mont.: Our fire prevention bureau is working the Ban the Burn program with School District No. 2. Fire suppression personnel are making business inspections, pre-fire planning, and are doing code enforcement. An arson team is working with city-county law enforcement, and an arson hot line is now in operation.
Tim Birr, Lieutenant, Public Information Officer, Eugene, Or.: Our department has had a fire education officer position for twelve years. This individual has worked with the local schools, institutions, civic groups and the media on fire prevention education programs. We feel that this is an extremely important area that is critical and certainly part of total fire protection.
Recently the Eugene Fire Department was selected to pilot test the U.S. Fire Administrations’ Cooking Fire Media Kit, developed by the Northern California Burn Council. With consultation from the Oregon State Fire Standards and Accreditation Board, we were able to get a fire safety message across to a confirmed minimum of 105,000 people by using the television and radio public service announcements contained in the kit. Additionally, the flyer contained in the kit was printed as a brochure and distributed to our city’s neighborhood groups for inclusion in their newsletters.
All this was accomplished with minimal staff time by using a packaged kit from the IJSFA’s Office of Planning and Education and working closely with mass media. We intend to pursue this cost-effective approach to fire prevention education more in the future as a supplement to the classes, displays and talks we have given in our city for years.
