I like to write about local programs that give us all something to think about. I have a special place in my heart for the programs that can demonstrate results. As I have said on numerous occasions, it does not matter what I like, it matters what produces results. When it comes to prevention programs, results help us all move forward.
Tennessee has been knocking it out of the park. The fire marshal there, Gary West, has provided leadership since his arrival in 2011, and his talented staff has joined in to establish one of the more effective prevention programs in the nation. That is not a scientific hypothesis, but let me provide evidence of why I think so. Gary has provided significant leadership for his state and sets an example for others to follow.
There are many different roles that state fire marshals play across the nation. Some are bound by law to specific functions, others no doubt by tradition, and in every case they are bound by the limits of the resources they have to do their jobs. But Tennessee provides a great example of what can be done if community risk reduction planning process steps are followed.
Study Leads to Change
It began in 2010 with a fire-mortality study conducted by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, which dug into and highlighted numerous risk factors for the citizens of the state. Tennessee has had one of the highest fire death rates per capita in the nation, so focusing effort where it would do some good was on researchers’ minds. However, they didn’t stop there. Their comprehensive risk assessment included looking at some fundamental issues, including why there were so many fires with “unknown” or “undetermined” listed as the cause. They drove the data collection and analysis process down to the county level, identifying counties that had a disproportionate percentage of fire incidents and deaths.
The researchers used this information to develop some focused fire prevention efforts for the state, most notably their efforts to increase the number of homes with working smoke alarms. The “Get Alarmed Tennessee” program started off slowly and eventually gained ground where they now have more than 440 local participating fire departments across the state actively engaged in smoke alarm installation efforts. At last count, they were collective installing nearly 400 smoke alarms per week.
I really appreciate the fact that they looked at statewide data but focused it on areas of higher risk. And that they realized that they needed the help of the local fire service to make a difference-and what a difference they have made.
Risk Reduction
Since the program began, there has been a 25 percent reduction in fire deaths per capita (million) from 2011 through 2014. The reason that is significant is because they projected a trend line that was expected to produce about 11 percent fewer fire deaths if previous trends were continued. They more than doubled what they were expecting to achieve. They had the lowest fire death rates in recorded history for Tennessee in 2014.
They reduced overall fire incident rates by 15 percent from the previous trend (2006-2010)-to the current trend (2011-2014) and are on track to continue that downward trend for 2015. They reduced the number of “unknown” causes for fire investigations by 50 percent by working with local departments to do a better job of reporting fire incidents.
Perhaps most important, they have documented 106 lives saved from their efforts since 2012. These numbers are outstanding, and Tennessee prevention personnel deserve all the credit and accolades they get for being proactive about solving their fire incident and death problems. They know that they have more work to do, and so they have established an annual fire loss summit where key representatives from across the state meet to discuss lessons learned and to incorporate them into their continuing efforts.
Lessons Learned
What lessons do we have to learn? We have to learn that the community risk reduction process begins with risk assessment that helps us to identify where, what, and who is involved in our emergency incident problems.
The work in Tennessee provides us with solid evidence that focused prevention efforts can produce measurable results and give us the numbers to help demonstrate that. They provide an example of how a state can help local departments do a better job and how working together collectively can produce solid results.
To learn more about the program, contact Gary West at Gary.West@tn.gov or Peyton Bullen at Peyton.Bullen@tn.gov.
