It’s no secret that fire departments and state fire prevention services nationwide have been facing budget cuts for the past few years–and some of the cuts have been drastic. My old community lost half its fire prevention staff, severely hampering their ability to get things done. You simply cannot do business the way that you did in the past with half of the resources.
I’ve written about being creative in these circumstances, and our collective economic troubles will continue to put pressure on us all to do so. But one particular aspect of this issue requires some additional attention: education. Though there are many aspects of education that are important in the fire service, I’m going to focus on the prevention aspect of public fire and life safety education because it’s an area that is often overlooked.
Why the Cut?
It’s common knowledge among fire prevention practitioners that public education is among the first programs to be cut when budgets are tight. This is presumably because, unlike fire investigations or even fire code compliance inspections, there’s no legal mandate for it. I can’t say that I have any quantifiable justification for making that assumption, but I certainly have many anecdotal examples from my years of experience in the field.
In addition to the lack of a legal mandate to provide it, public education is often cut because there’s no natural constituency that will fight to maintain education programs in the face of disturbing alternatives. Close a fire station or cut public education and then ask yourself where the fire chief is going to feel the most heat. Though it hurts to recognize the political facts, there will be much more of a public outcry if emergency services are being cut than there will be for public education.
Let’s Get Creative
One creative solution to this problem: Consider combining emergency response and public education. For example, many departments across the nation are getting their fire crews out of the station and into the community to make sure that high-risk homes have working smoke alarms. Emerging results from these efforts can be seen in places like Philadelphia, where Commissioner Lloyd Ayers (a strong proponent of community risk-reduction methods) reports the lowest fire death rate in recent history.
Despite pressure to make cuts, as well as resistance from some inside the fire service, pushing public education activities out at the station level has significant benefits. First, it helps to improve public safety. Focusing prevention efforts where fires and other emergencies occur most frequently makes sense. Fires, injuries and fire deaths occur most often in homes, so it makes sense for prevention programs to start at the local level, but doing so requires the kind of leadership that recognizes we’re in this business to provide for public safety.
Second, this approach provides some much-needed public exposure for firefighters and fire medics who don’t interact with the public except in times of emergency. Good PR is not the primary reason for pushing this approach, but it does help when we’re trying to educate the public about the importance of our efforts.
Some might mistakenly think that pushing public education out to the stations is a way to save a vital program while they cut back on their traditional public education staffing. But what does it take to make sure that the programs being used in the field are appropriate? It takes someone with expertise.
You wouldn’t say that it’s OK to transfer all fire investigation responsibilities to emergency responders, right? Some situations are too complex, and someone has to be on hand to provide guidance for even simple fire scenarios. It takes an educated professional to properly guide frontline companies in how to preserve fire scenes and evidence that can be critical to an investigation. It’s no less important to have someone with that same level of expertise to help guide public education efforts appropriately.
Education Resources
We know public fire safety is important, so where do our educators get educated? There are several resources depending on your location. Some states do a great job of providing educational opportunities, and even certification for educators to help obtain and demonstrate competence in their field. The National Fire Academy offers excellent courses on the topic. But in many cases, prevention skills are not taught locally by professional trainers. That’s why it’s important to support state, regional and national training opportunities for fire prevention.
Though he may not remember the discussion, Einar Jensen, a Colorado friend, helped spur this article and topic because of the realization that we needed to provide for education in our field now more than ever. It’s no coincidence that Colorado offers one of the nation’s best regional training opportunity for educators and those who need to understand the field better. Its Fire and Life Safety Educators Conference in the Rockies takes place in April, and can be accessed from their website (www.firesafetyeducators.org). If you still have an educator, then they need an opportunity like this to stay abreast of developments in the field. If you don’t have an educator and/or if you had to cut the position, then someone in your department needs to learn about these things.
A Final Word of Advice
You wouldn’t send a firefighter into a building without training. Don’t send them out into their community without the proper education–the training, tools and guidance–they need from someone with expertise to help them succeed at educating the public about fire prevention.
Bringing public education to the local fire station level will not only allow firefighters to develop and maintain their knowledge on the subject, it may also save much-needed education programs that have the potential to save many lives.
