Six Days, Six Fires, 19 Children and 9 Adults Killed
In the six days between February 6 and 11, there were six fires that killed 19 children and 9 adults across the nation, which are the latest in what seems to be an increase in fires that have claimed the lives of three or more people per incident. In the past 30 days, 65 people have been killed, with over half of them being children. Compounding these tragedies is that so many of these fires are probably preventable with fire safety practices that we all know.
For many years, fire departments have been doing fire prevention activities, so the question arises as to why do these fires keep happening? What are we doing wrong?? What do we need to do differently to reach people?
This podcast includes experts who discuss the importance of prevention, detection and suppression and some time-tested and new and creative ideas that can be used in reaching the different demographics that make up communities across the country. The panel includes Heather Caldwell (Kiddie), Judy Comoletti (National Fire Protection Asccociation), Ben May (Disney), Ozzie Mirkhah (Las Vegas Fire & Rescue); Peg Paul (Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition); Alan Shuman (National Association of State Fire Marshals) and is hosted by Ed Comeau (Campus Firewatch)
Organization Links:
• Campus Firewatch
• Congressional Fire Services Institute
• Fire.gov
• Firesafety.gov
• Firefyi.org
• Firesafe Cigarette Coalition
• Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition
• Liberty Mutual/Epcot “Where’s the Fire” Exhibit
• Kidde
• National Association of State Fire Marshals
• National Fire Protection Association
• National Fire Sprinkler Association
• NFPA Fact Sheets
• Sparky the Fire Dog
• U.S. Fire Adminstration
• USFA Media Fact Sheets
Related article links:
• Discuss this show on the Firehouse Forums
• Links to article by Firehouse.com Contributing Editor Ben May
• Links to article by Firehouse.com Contributing Editor Ozzie Mirkhah
• Texas House Fire Claims Four
• Three Children Die in Detroit Apartment Fire
• Ten Dead in Kentucky House Blaze
• Four Children Killed in Tennessee Fire
• Philadelphia Fire-prevention unit works to halt the next deadly blaze
• Society of Fire Protection Engineers Press Release
• International Fire Marshals Association Newsletter (pdf)
If you have suggestions, questions or comments, please e-mail them to: podcast@firehouse.com
IPOD Compatible:
• iTunes - Subscribe to Podcast FREE Here
Sponsored By:
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Email a friend about this podcast.
Thank-you. That was powerful and to the point.
When the rally cry of our nation’s Fire and Life Safety Educators is caught and believed by local Fire Chiefs and City Administrators with proper provision of funding, resource, time and honor–then the visions can become “actuated dreams-come-true_ NOT the “nightmares” or “daydreams” that Ozzie Mirkhaw so aptly describes.
When we WAKE UP –WHO LEADS the charge and makes the IC plan of attack and moves us forward?
d
Dena Schumacher
Fire and Life Safety Educator
Champaign IL Fire Department
We can only do so much. People are always going to make foolish mistakes regarding fire safety. The people that care about fire safety stand a much better chance in avoiding trajedy. Most people are receptive to our efforts some just don’t care.
F/F Bill Cochran
Falmouth,ME Fire-EMS Dept.
[…] Original post by Sarah O […]
If you look at a sampling of departments around the Country - they are mostly focused on the “Suppression” side of the Service. We, the Fire Service, have become a REactive agency instead of a PROactive agency. I heard it described in a class as “licking RED PAINT”. We will not hesitate to add more suppression personnel, apparatus, or equipment, but will not put a fraction of the effort into gaining an additional person in the Prevention Division. It depends on your focus - we seem to have lost ours somewhere along the way. Prevention is the responsibility of every firefighter.
Kyle S. Curry
Battalion Chief
Fayetteville Fire Department
Fayetteville, AR
The relatively new cry of customer service must be accompainied by public education. To serve a community without educating it aggressively on all levels is to provide only half a service.
The idea of “marketing” the fire service to the public is one that has been overshadowed by many other less important issues. One only has to look at fire death history and code changes to see the real affect it has had in places of assembly. The avenue for such magnitude of cahnge lies in marketing the fire service safety message to the public at every opportunity. If this means I have to sit at 7-11 and greet customers with that message then maybe it’s the right thing.
I challenge the fire service of america to market public service education on the same level Alan Burnancini did customer service in Phoenix.
Carl Roberts
Fire Captain / Paramedic
City of San Jose Fire Dept
Far too many of these tragedies come with the comment, smoke detector batteries dead or smoke detector inoperative.
“PUSH THE RED BUTTON, NOT YOUR LUCK!”
Please consider the International Association of Black Professional Fire Fighters as an active advocacy for the elimination of fire fatalities and associated injuries.
Vanguards of Cleveland install smoke detectors at no charge
“Cleveland chapter of the International Association of Black Professional Fire Fighters campaign to equip homes with free smoke alarms….”
Fire Engineering Online, December 13, 2006
http://fe.pennnet.com/articles/article_display.cfm?Section=ARCHI&C=GOVMT&ARTICLE_ID=279673&KEYWORDS=Vanguards%20install%20smoke%20detectors&p=25
Fires a Major Threat for Black Children
The Tavis Smiley Show, August 10, 2004 · A recent U.S. government study suggests fires are the number one cause of accidental deaths for black children in the United States. Hear NPR’s Tavis Smiley and Johnny Brewington, president of the International Association of Black Professional Firefighters
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=3843402
I tend to agree with Kyle Curry, that we’re too focused on suppression. We, whether we want to admit it, or not, rely on “numbers” to justify our jobs. (You can’t justify the need for 100 firefighters, if you only had 50 fires last year.) So, unfortunately, education and prevention tend to take an under-funded, under-manned, and under-appreciated back seat. The public and our elected officials don’t want to spend money on this, because it doesn’t bring the same spectacular result as a full-blown “job”, with dozens of firefighters scurrying around like ants.
Another thing that the public and the duly elected have, is a very short memory. Unless you push the education/prevention message home, every day, our “customers” tend to forget, or dismiss the message as “old news”.
Maybe it’s time, before the next tragedy; before the next news story of death and destruction; before the news media starts handing out smoke detectors as a P.R. thing; to start putting our own message out there, on a daily basis- a simple 1/4 page reminder, or a 30 second TV/radio spot would do.
These horrific tradgedies point to the Nations thirst for fire safety knowledge, I assure you they are not calling for more water.
It is our proffessional and moral responsibilty in the fire service to provide more public education to reduce life and property losses.
Fire sprinklers-fire sprinklers-fire sprinklers. Need I say more? Those of you that think that you can beat the flashover timeline are doomed to the same fire statistics. Try to protect all new residences with fire sprinklers and see if that makes a difference.
Battalion Chief Curry said it right. It has a lot to do with our focus. On the flip side of it though, it has a lot to do with our Nation. Recently typing a report for a college class I came across this fact. In the fire service we get ONE week to teach fire prevention whereas in that same month alone (not counting the ridiculous amount of other months themes) we have to go against National Popcorn Popping Month, and National Cider Month to name a few. We do not get proper time within classrooms and organizations to educate the public about fire prevention.
Leave a Reply
Firehouse World | Firehouse Expo | Firehouse Magazine
RSS Feeds: Entries and Comments