Blog of Aaron J.: public education

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Preventing Fires in the Wildland/Urban Interface (WUI)

So far, this year the United States has experienced 52,699 wildfires. These fires have burned nearly 9 million acres, destroyed 8,700 structures, and claimed 23 lives, and will cost insurers $3 billion.

NFPA 1452 defines the wildland/urban interface (WUI) as “the presence of a structure in locations in which the AHJ determines that topographical features, vegetation fuel types, local weather conditions, and prevailing winds result in the potential for ignition of the structures within the area from flames and firebrands of a wildland fire”. According to the Verisk 2017 Wildfire Risk Analysis nearly 4.5 million homes meet this definition, and are considered to be at high or extreme risk of wildfire.

What can fire prevention organizations do to mitigate the wildland fire risk and how can we prepare our communities for these wildfire disasters?

A house threatened by wildfire, by USDA

The critical area that homeowners have the most control over is known as the “structure ignition zone”. This is a radial area around the home of up to 200 ft. NFPA 1452, Chapter 9, recommends the following actions should be completed to prevent ignition from nearby flames or floating firebrands.

Maintain a buffer zone of at least 30 feet around the home. Plant only high-moisture, drought resistant, and low-flammability vegetation next to, and within the first 6 feet of, the home’s foundation.
Use only noncombustible roof materials.
Ensure that the roof and gutters are always clean or debris, pine needles, and dead leaves.
Install 1⁄4 in. mesh metal screens over foundation and eave vents
Enclose the sides of stilt foundations and decks
Providing metal screens or spark arresters on chimneys
Maintain access to emergency water supply sources such as, swimming pools, wells, ponds, and lakes.
Follow all local open burning regulations.

Residents living within the wildland/urban interface should be prepared for evacuations in the event that mitigation's fail, or extreme circumstances prevail. Residents can be prepared for wildfire by making the following arrangements.

Have an evacuation plan, and be knowledgeable of exit routes and shelter locations.
Inventory the home and possessions with videos or photographs.
Secure important documents off-premises (safe-deposit box, etc.).
Identify those important items to be brought in the evacuation.
Keep a bag of personal care hygiene items, for use at evacuation shelters.

For more information and tools on the wildland/urban interface, homeowner safety, and firefighting operations, a valuable resource is the NFPA Firewise USA website at, FireWise.org.

Home Fire Extinguisher FAQ

An important component of many Community Risk Reduction programs are home visits, conducted by fire department line personnel. NFPA 1452 serves as a guide for how fire departments should conduct these CRR home visits. Part of this guide refers to the presence of home fire extinguishing methods such as fire extinguishers. Many homeowners may not be aware of the value or use of these tools. It is important that firefighters know the answers to common questions regarding household fire extinguishers.

What type, rating, and how many extinguishers are needed?
How much will an extinguisher cost?
Where should fire extinguishers be located and mounted?
How are fire extinguishers operated and maintained?

NFPA 10, Standard for Portable Fire Extinguishers provides the answers to these questions.

What type, rating and how many are needed?

NFPA 10, chapter 5 outlines the requirements for the “selection of portable fire extinguishers”. Selection should be based on the following:

Type of fire most likely to occur (based on classifications, below)
Size of fire most likely to occur
Hazards in the area where the fire may occur
Energized electrical equipment in the vicinity of the fire
Ambient temperature conditions

Type of fire most likely to occur will determine the classification of extinguisher that is needed.

How much will it cost?

Homeowners can expect to pay $20 - $50 for a suitable fire extinguisher. These can be purchased at retail stores or online at sites like, Home Depot, Walmart, or Amazon.

Where should fire extinguishers be located?

Extinguishers should be located in areas that have the greatest potential for fire, such as the kitchen, garage, and laundry room. Extinguishers are to be mounted on the provided bracket at least 4” from the floor, but no higher than 5’ to the top of the handle. Extinguishers should accessible, visible, and within the normal path of travel to an exit.

How are extinguishers operated and maintained?

Extinguishers should be visually inspected, at least monthly, to determine that the unit is in its appropriate location, is accessible, and the gauge is within operational limits. The manufacturers inspection/testing/maintenance recommendations should be followed.

Extinguishers can be operated using the P.A.S.S. method.

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Fire Prevention Week 2017

The week of October 8-14 will be nationally recognized as Fire PreventionWeek. The theme this year is “Every Second Counts: Plan 2 Ways Out”. Having an escape plan can spare lives when seconds count. This years theme reinforces the need for families to have, know, and practice a fire escape plan.

Fire Prevention Week has been observed every October (always the week of the 9th) since 1922. The NFPA established this week to commemorate the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. This fire, rumored to have been started by Mrs. O’Leary’s cow, claimed more than 250 lives, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed more than 17,400 structures and burned more than 2,000 acres.

Public education plays a critical role in a communities fire prevention plan. Here are some resources to utilize with this weeks focus on fire prevention.

Developing Public Education Programs

Our public education efforts should focus on programs that are interactive, engaging and provide maximum benefit to the community. Interpreting the data and identifying the risks will focus your attention on the programs that are most needed. Here’s how it’s done.

Engaging Firefighters in Community Risk Reduction

A key component for effective risk reduction is face-to-face interaction with community members. This can be achieved through public events, fire station visits, and, most effectively, home visits. Community risk reduction programs, and fire crews involvement in them, produces three distinct benefits.

Conducting Home Visits

Conducting Home Visits

The most important component of community risk reduction (CRR) is strategic contact with the public. A strategic contact consists or much more than handing out stickers or plastic hats at the mall. The strategic contact is a contact made that meets the objectives of the communities CRR plan, and is immediately beneficial to the person contacted. This can most effectively happen in fire department home visits.

The purpose of the home visit is to make residents and home owners aware of any fire hazards that may be present in the home, and ensure that smoke and CO alarms are installed. These visits and reports should be considered confidential. It is not the intent of the home visit to "punish" the resident, or cause problems within their community.

NFPA 1452, Guide for Training Fire Service Personnel to Conduct Community Risk Reduction, outlines some basic factors for conducting home visits and provides an example home visit form. This information and form can be found in Chapter 11 and Annex A of the document. The form example provided is basic. A Google search will turn up multiple home visit articles and resources. However, there are two that are ready-made, and freely available that I would recommend.

Fire Department and Community Survey

This documentation packet includes a form that a fire department can use to assess the communities risk reduction needs. It also includes a great questionnaire for individual properties.

Fire-Ed also offers a free, 5-part e-mail series that provides a blueprint for bringing proven fire and life safety education to your community. You can sign up for this, here --> http://bit.ly/FireEdBlueprint

CRR Home Safety Visit Questionnaire

InspectionReportsOnline.net provides a free PDF home visit form. This form can be filled out electronically, or they can be printed and completed manually. This home visit form is more extensive and includes the ability to submit the results directly to Vision 20/20.

Engaging Firefighters in Community Risk Reduction

"Firefighters" Nicole Huber

The general goal of the fire prevention organization is to prevent the loss of life and property damage due to fire. Where NFPA 1730 provides guidance on what needs to be done to accomplish this goal, NFPA 1452 provides practical guidance on how this can be achieved.

The Guide for Training Fire Service Personnel to Conduct Community Risk Reduction, provides direction for fire departments to design and implement the community risk reduction plan. A key component for effective risk reduction is face-to-face interaction with community members. This can be achieved through public events, fire station visits, and, most effectively, home visits. Community risk reduction programs, and fire crews involvement in them, produces three distinct benefits.

Material distribution.

Home visits, interaction, and direct contact with the public can provide an excellent opportunity to distribute and discuss fire prevention, life safety, and emergency preparedness literature. With the abundance of documents and materials available, make sure that the selected items and literature are directly tied with the communities risk reduction plan and goals. Fire department personnel should take advantage of these opportunities to to answer questions and create conversations that promote risk reduction initiatives.

Supports other programs.

Personal interactions and home visits improve the public perception of the fire department, and allow the promotion of additional fire protection and life safety programs. Based on the conditions or personnel observed, some programs that may be promoted include:

smoke alarm installation
CO detection and alarm installation
radon dangers and awareness
residential fire sprinklers
fire escape planning
Drowning prevention
senior citizen risks and fall prevention
Fire safety for children

Continuity of CRR programs.

Effective community risk reduction is an endless cycle of planning, implementation, and evaluation. Home visits and discussion with community members and groups can provide feedback on current programs, and data for future community needs. As these programs gain traction and their effectiveness is tracked and demonstrated, community support for the department and CRR will be enhanced.

Resources

7 Habits of Highly Effective Fire Prevention Organizations

Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. -Aristotle

NFPA 1730, Standard on Organization and Deployment of Fire Prevention Inspection and Code Enforcement, Plan Review, Investigation, and Public Education Operations outlines essential functions and tasks of the fire prevention organization. The guidance of this standard provides the basis for the 7 habits of highly effective fire prevention organizations. For maximum effectiveness these habits must work together as an integrated fire prevention organizational system.

Highly effective fire prevention organizations:

Know their community.
Have a plan.
Enforce the code.
Are proactive with plan review and field inspections.
Investigate fire incidents.
Educate the public.
Are adequately staffed.

1. They know their community.

Successful and effective fire prevention organizations know their community. They become intimately familiar with their communities demographics, economics, geographical features, fire experience, buildings, structures, and specific hazards. This information is gained through the conduct of a Community Risk Assessment (CRA).

The CRA is conducted in 3 steps: information gathering, data analysis, and strategy development. The CRA compiles data from a variety of sources in order to provide a picture of the community and its fire and life safety history. Through data analysis and evaluation specific risks that a community is exposed to can be identified. From this data collection and analysis process, a fire protection and life safety strategy can be formulated to reduce these risks.

2. They have a plan.

From the CRA process a fire and life safety strategy can be formulated. This strategy is referred to as a community risk reduction (CRR) plan. The CRR will be different for every community, however, common risk reduction elements include, existing building inspections, plan review, origin and cause investigations, and public education. Each of these tasks come with their own set of challenges. The amount of time and complexity alloted to these tasks will vary based on community needs.

3. They enforce the code.

The most critical task of the fire prevention organization is the inspection and code enforcement of existing structures. All structures within a community can be identified as high, moderate, or low risk, or critical infrastructure. High risk structures include healthcare, education, multi-family, detention, and assembly occupancies. Critical infrastructure can be defined as those systems, structures, or assets that are essential for the community to function. This would include power plants, public safety, and water treatment facilities. The higher the risk category the more frequent and extensive the inspections should be. Structures identified as high risk should be inspected at least annually, and those identified as critical infrastructure, even more frequently.

4. They are proactive with plan review and field inspections.

The plan review process can let a builder or property owner understand the feasibility and expected costs of their project. It also provides a preview of what the fire department can expect to be coming to their community. The plan review process reveals site access, water supply, construction features, fire protection systems availability. Hazardous processes that take place within the structure, or hazardous materials stored on-site can be discovered in the plan review phase. Compliance with construction codes and installation standards is ensured through the field inspection activity. Systems are tested for functionality and the structure and operational features are inspected throughout the process to culminate in the building owner receiving his final Certificate of Occupancy to signify that compliance standards have been met, and the building is safe for occupancy.

5. They investigate fire incidents.

Fire origin and cause investigations can detect product defects, determine fire cause trends, and prevent arson and related crimes. The data collected from the investigation process can play an important role in community risk reduction. Origin and cause investigation can be a time consuming, and sometimes slow-moving, process. The investigation process includes on-scene time, research and data mining, interviews, report writing, and case preparation time. For departments that are operating at minimum staffing levels the use of company officers can considerably decrease the workload of the fire investigator and other fire prevention personnel.

6. They educate the public.

By identifying root fire causes, and at-risk populations a public education agenda can be set. Whether the population is senior citizens, young children, a college town, or the workplace there is a multitude of existing programs that can be used to effectively educate and reduce risk. Behavior only changes with education.

7. They are adequately staffed.

By identifying the risks posed to a community, fire prevention functions activities can be prioritized, and staffing required to complete those tasks can be determined. Using the program and organizational guidance provided in NFPA 1730 the case for staffing and budget requirements can be clearly presented.

Through the regular practice of these 7 habits, the fire prevention organization can function at a high level of of excellence while maintaining maximum effectiveness and efficiency.

7 Habits of Highly Effective Fire Prevention Organizations from Aaron Johnson

Developing Public Education Programs

Special thanks to Prevention Connection - Public Safety Task Force for their contributions to this post.

Do Something Big Public Fire and Life Safety Education.jpg

If we treated fire and life safety education like a business, we as a fire service would be miles ahead. Businesses stay in business by offering solutions to known problems, or to problems their customers might not even know they have. As a fire service, we are pushing ourselves out of the business by not providing solutions to a very real and well known problem, the fire problem! We all know it is there, but as a “business” not always do we deliver the best solutions to our “customer”. Let’s do something big and take appropriate measures to better serve and protect communities!

We can save time and money by tapping into readily available resources that meet the critical need and address the ‘fire problem’. We also have access to codes and standards like NFPA 1730, to help us develop our own cutting edge public education programs.

Our public education efforts should focus on programs that are interactive, engaging and provide maximum benefit to the community. Determining which programs provide the greatest value can be found by reviewing the data collected in the Community Risk Assessment (CRA). Interpreting the data and identifying the risks will focus your attention on the programs that are most needed. Here’s how it’s done:

1. Collect the data. Data can be collected from a variety of sources and should include local population and census information, socio-econcomic indicators, fire department run reports, and local or national trends.

2. Compare the data. The collected data should then be analyzed to find trends and common, or frequently, occurring incidents. These incidents can then be broken down by population data such as age group, socio-economic status, and geographical area of occurrence.

3. Identify the risks. The risks that the data shows will become the basis for your public education program. Public education efforts should be designed to reduce or mitigate these community risks.

4. Identify root causes. The public education program should address the actual root cause of the problem, not just the symptoms. To get to the root cause will require more in-depth analysis of the identified risks.

5. Define goals and objectives. The best objectives are S.M.A.R.T. objectives:
S - specific
M - measurable
A - achievable
R - realistic
T - time-based

6. Develop strategic partners. Reach out to other public and private organizations in the community. They will have a shared interest in your program and may provide additional resources and/or funds.

7. Develop the program. Create the public education programming, elements, and deliverables. Prior to spending a large amount of time creating a program from scratch, explore the many ready-made resources that are available. Get the program started and out to the public, do not get stuck in a planning and preparing mode!

8. Implement the program. Deliver the program. Don't worry about everything being perfect, just get your program to the audience that needs it. You can always make changes and tweaks as the program grows.

9. Evaluate the process and impact measures. Your program should be regularly evaluated to ensure that you are reaching your target audience, and the message you want conveyed is being received.

10. Modify as needed. Within a set time-frame the program should be reviewed to determine its impact. If changes to the message, audience, or delivery are needed then make them.

Burnaby BC elementary school kids dressing the scenes of the fully involved home safe system by Prevention Connection.jpg

With the many public education options available it is easy to go for the program that has the most funding, the best resources, or something the individual educator enjoys. Chasing programs can take much time, money, and resources spent on a program that still might not be solving the ‘fire problem’. Regardless, education cannot take the back seat anymore! NFPA 1730 is timely and fantastic for those of us needing to freshen up our pub ed efforts. These guidelines will help you get a new take to some of the existing curriculums, that you can build upon. Get these tools in your hand so you don’t have to completely reinvent the wheel. Here are some terrific examples:

Public Education Resources by Target Audience