FIR DB V

FIR 2302, Principles of Fire and Emergency Services Safety and Survival 1

Course Learning Outcomes for Unit V Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:

3. Recognize the importance of standards as they apply to health and safety. 3.1 Explain the importance of residential sprinklers as they apply to health and safety.

6. Articulate the need to advocate for public education and code enforcement.

6.1 Describe the positive impacts of public education and code enforcement on the health and safety of the public.

Required Unit Resources Chapter 14: Enabling Public Education Chapter 15: Advocating Residential Fire Sprinklers

Unit Lesson

Introduction Please view the Unit V Video. Closed captioning will be available once you access the video. In this unit, we will focus more on the health and safety of the public. We can think of the positive benefits of the public’s safety as contributing to the safety and health of firefighters operating at emergency incidents as well. For example, a fire that does not start and is kept from growing with occupants inside the building that are not in need of rescue are all potential positive outcomes of public education and code enforcement. Although public education and code enforcement are discussed together in this lesson, there are important distinctions to be made between the two pertaining to the safety of the public. When we think of keeping the public safe, we may think of the concept of community risk reduction (CRR). In CRR, there are the 5 Es. They are emergency response, education, engineering, enforcement, and economic incentives (ESO, 2020). Although community risk reduction is covered in another CSU course, we will focus on education and enforcement in this unit.

Public Education When we consider educating the public about hazards and risks that threaten their safety and health, we should consider an all-hazards approach. Think of all the hazards to which the public is exposed. The best first step to developing any public education campaign might begin with reviewing your National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) and other data sources to determine the most significant risks in your community. It may also be beneficial to consider the types of incidents that your department members experience throughout the course of their day. When we think about public education campaigns and programs, we should be asking what problem we are trying to solve. Some agencies may have personnel dedicated to fire and life safety education, while others may have limited staffing that can only be expected to conduct fire safety inspections. This is the fundamental difference between public education and code enforcement. In agencies without dedicated staff, public education may be augmented by having operational units perform public education details such as school or fire station visits. Any education is better than no education, but it is important to understand that the general community is probably not thinking about fire safety until there is an actual emergency.

UNIT V STUDY GUIDE

Public Education and Code Enforcement

FIR 2302, Principles of Fire and Emergency Services Safety and Survival 2

UNIT x STUDY GUIDE

Title

When we think about safety in the home, there are several issues to consider. Some of the major fire and life safety issues are universal, while others depend on where you are located geographically. In some areas of the country, home heating fires from improperly used electric heaters may be prevalent. In other parts of the country, this may not be a major concern. However, cooking fires are a universal issue that needs to be addressed. A comprehensive public education program engages the public more than one week a year in October during Fire Prevention Week. Consider the importance of relationships and who your partners and stakeholders are or need to be. You will need to engage the public in a meaningful way that matters to them. Consider factors about your target audience such as age, education, socioeconomic status, language, nationality, religion, and so on. The target audience must be able to understand and relate to your messaging in a way that translates into an observable change in behavior. That, in the end, is the purpose of public education programs. What groups or organizations can you partner with to reach the people you are trying to reach? When and where is the best time to reach them? These may be factors that require educational efforts outside of your agency’s normal business hours. Some of the more common partners are other emergency service providers such as law enforcement and EMS, is separate from your fire department. Schools, community groups, religious organizations, and elected officials are all entities that should be consulted when developing your programs. Public education programs are best developed and delivered in a collaborative effort. You should consider using various types of messaging including printed materials, safety talks, and the use of news and social media. Keep in mind that if people are going to listen to you, they are going to have to trust you first. What type of relationship do you have with your local news outlets? Do you frequently engage with them? After all, they have a job to do, which is to inform the same community that you are sworn to protect. One of the most critical aspects of public education efforts is timing. If winter is approaching, people are more likely to be aware of and open to messaging related to home heating emergencies. However, messaging related to outdoor cooking and fireworks will be best delivered around holidays like July 4. Obviously, there will be local factors that will need to be considered. Timing can also be related to tragedy. Unfortunately, a community may be more receptive to the topic of using fire alarms or carbon monoxide detectors after the death or serious injury occurs. It is important to celebrate wins. If your public education was effective, resulted in an observable change of behavior, and saved a life, you should capitalize on the opportunity and bring this positive message to the public. It need not always be bad news or doom and gloom to get the public’s attention. Additionally, this is an opportunity to develop or strengthen your relationship with a specific community group and the community at large. There are several agencies that can assist your organization with its public education efforts. Perhaps the two most well-known organizations are the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA). Both organizations are committed to life safety and reducing risk associated with fire and other hazards to the public.

Code Enforcement If public education is about efforts to gain voluntary compliance with suggestions to improve health and safety, code enforcement can be considered efforts to gain mandatory compliance with requirements to improve health and safety. Many of the codes in place are the result of a reaction to some type of tragedy. We may take certain safety measures for granted, but a look back at some of history’s most significant fires will reveal conditions and situations that resulted in significant loss of life.

• The Great Chicago Fire video

• Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire video

• Coconut Grove Fire video In this lesson, we will focus primarily on advocating for residential fire sprinklers. NFPA 13D, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems and One- and Two-Family Dwellings and Manufactured Homes, takes

FIR 2302, Principles of Fire and Emergency Services Safety and Survival 3

UNIT x STUDY GUIDE

Title

components of NFPA 13, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems, and simplifies them for residential use (Zimmerman, 2021). There are many factors to consider regarding the required or voluntary installation of residential sprinkler system in private residences. Although the value to the improvement of the safety and health of the occupants is well established, the cost benefit is not universally agreed on. There is strong opposition by many organizations for myriad reasons. We have all seen the movie where a smoke condition sets off every sprinkler head in the entire system and people are running from the building, soaking wet, while the building contents are drenched in water. We, as an industry, must do a better job of advocating for this incredible, lifesaving device that costs approximately $2 per square foot to install (Zimmerman, 2021). The enforcement of codes is ultimately about keeping occupants safe. That is our ultimate responsibility. For the owners of private dwellings, there is more freedom to choose and fewer mandated safety requirements than in larger residential occupancies. We must engage with our community, communicate, collaborate, and educate about health and safety issues that affect us all.

References ESO Staff. (2020, October 12). Components of CRR: The 5 E’s of community risk reduction. ESO.

https://www.eso.com/blog/what-are-the-5-es-of-community-risk-reduction/ Zimmerman, D. (2021). Fire fighter safety and survival (3rd ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.

https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781284206128

Suggested Unit Resources In order to access the following resource, click the link below. One of the most important life safety devices available is the automatic fire sprinkler system. Please check the following link for a wealth of information and resources available for firefighters. There are also plenty of opportunities to get involved locally, regionally, and nationally. National Fire Sprinkler Association website

FIR 2302, Principles of Fire and Emergency Services Safety and Survival 1

Course Learning Outcomes for Unit V Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:

3. Recognize the importance of standards as they apply to health and safety. 3.1 Explain the importance of residential sprinklers as they apply to health and safety.

6. Articulate the need to advocate for public education and code enforcement.

6.1 Describe the positive impacts of public education and code enforcement on the health and safety of the public.

Required Unit Resources Chapter 14: Enabling Public Education Chapter 15: Advocating Residential Fire Sprinklers

Unit Lesson

Introduction Please view the Unit V Video. Closed captioning will be available once you access the video. In this unit, we will focus more on the health and safety of the public. We can think of the positive benefits of the public’s safety as contributing to the safety and health of firefighters operating at emergency incidents as well. For example, a fire that does not start and is kept from growing with occupants inside the building that are not in need of rescue are all potential positive outcomes of public education and code enforcement. Although public education and code enforcement are discussed together in this lesson, there are important distinctions to be made between the two pertaining to the safety of the public. When we think of keeping the public safe, we may think of the concept of community risk reduction (CRR). In CRR, there are the 5 Es. They are emergency response, education, engineering, enforcement, and economic incentives (ESO, 2020). Although community risk reduction is covered in another CSU course, we will focus on education and enforcement in this unit.

Public Education When we consider educating the public about hazards and risks that threaten their safety and health, we should consider an all-hazards approach. Think of all the hazards to which the public is exposed. The best first step to developing any public education campaign might begin with reviewing your National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) and other data sources to determine the most significant risks in your community. It may also be beneficial to consider the types of incidents that your department members experience throughout the course of their day. When we think about public education campaigns and programs, we should be asking what problem we are trying to solve. Some agencies may have personnel dedicated to fire and life safety education, while others may have limited staffing that can only be expected to conduct fire safety inspections. This is the fundamental difference between public education and code enforcement. In agencies without dedicated staff, public education may be augmented by having operational units perform public education details such as school or fire station visits. Any education is better than no education, but it is important to understand that the general community is probably not thinking about fire safety until there is an actual emergency.

UNIT V STUDY GUIDE

Public Education and Code Enforcement

FIR 2302, Principles of Fire and Emergency Services Safety and Survival 2

UNIT x STUDY GUIDE

Title

When we think about safety in the home, there are several issues to consider. Some of the major fire and life safety issues are universal, while others depend on where you are located geographically. In some areas of the country, home heating fires from improperly used electric heaters may be prevalent. In other parts of the country, this may not be a major concern. However, cooking fires are a universal issue that needs to be addressed. A comprehensive public education program engages the public more than one week a year in October during Fire Prevention Week. Consider the importance of relationships and who your partners and stakeholders are or need to be. You will need to engage the public in a meaningful way that matters to them. Consider factors about your target audience such as age, education, socioeconomic status, language, nationality, religion, and so on. The target audience must be able to understand and relate to your messaging in a way that translates into an observable change in behavior. That, in the end, is the purpose of public education programs. What groups or organizations can you partner with to reach the people you are trying to reach? When and where is the best time to reach them? These may be factors that require educational efforts outside of your agency’s normal business hours. Some of the more common partners are other emergency service providers such as law enforcement and EMS, is separate from your fire department. Schools, community groups, religious organizations, and elected officials are all entities that should be consulted when developing your programs. Public education programs are best developed and delivered in a collaborative effort. You should consider using various types of messaging including printed materials, safety talks, and the use of news and social media. Keep in mind that if people are going to listen to you, they are going to have to trust you first. What type of relationship do you have with your local news outlets? Do you frequently engage with them? After all, they have a job to do, which is to inform the same community that you are sworn to protect. One of the most critical aspects of public education efforts is timing. If winter is approaching, people are more likely to be aware of and open to messaging related to home heating emergencies. However, messaging related to outdoor cooking and fireworks will be best delivered around holidays like July 4. Obviously, there will be local factors that will need to be considered. Timing can also be related to tragedy. Unfortunately, a community may be more receptive to the topic of using fire alarms or carbon monoxide detectors after the death or serious injury occurs. It is important to celebrate wins. If your public education was effective, resulted in an observable change of behavior, and saved a life, you should capitalize on the opportunity and bring this positive message to the public. It need not always be bad news or doom and gloom to get the public’s attention. Additionally, this is an opportunity to develop or strengthen your relationship with a specific community group and the community at large. There are several agencies that can assist your organization with its public education efforts. Perhaps the two most well-known organizations are the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA). Both organizations are committed to life safety and reducing risk associated with fire and other hazards to the public.

Code Enforcement If public education is about efforts to gain voluntary compliance with suggestions to improve health and safety, code enforcement can be considered efforts to gain mandatory compliance with requirements to improve health and safety. Many of the codes in place are the result of a reaction to some type of tragedy. We may take certain safety measures for granted, but a look back at some of history’s most significant fires will reveal conditions and situations that resulted in significant loss of life.

• The Great Chicago Fire video

• Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire video

• Coconut Grove Fire video In this lesson, we will focus primarily on advocating for residential fire sprinklers. NFPA 13D, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems and One- and Two-Family Dwellings and Manufactured Homes, takes

FIR 2302, Principles of Fire and Emergency Services Safety and Survival 3

UNIT x STUDY GUIDE

Title

components of NFPA 13, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems, and simplifies them for residential use (Zimmerman, 2021). There are many factors to consider regarding the required or voluntary installation of residential sprinkler system in private residences. Although the value to the improvement of the safety and health of the occupants is well established, the cost benefit is not universally agreed on. There is strong opposition by many organizations for myriad reasons. We have all seen the movie where a smoke condition sets off every sprinkler head in the entire system and people are running from the building, soaking wet, while the building contents are drenched in water. We, as an industry, must do a better job of advocating for this incredible, lifesaving device that costs approximately $2 per square foot to install (Zimmerman, 2021). The enforcement of codes is ultimately about keeping occupants safe. That is our ultimate responsibility. For the owners of private dwellings, there is more freedom to choose and fewer mandated safety requirements than in larger residential occupancies. We must engage with our community, communicate, collaborate, and educate about health and safety issues that affect us all.

References ESO Staff. (2020, October 12). Components of CRR: The 5 E’s of community risk reduction. ESO.

https://www.eso.com/blog/what-are-the-5-es-of-community-risk-reduction/ Zimmerman, D. (2021). Fire fighter safety and survival (3rd ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.

https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781284206128

Suggested Unit Resources In order to access the following resource, click the link below. One of the most important life safety devices available is the automatic fire sprinkler system. Please check the following link for a wealth of information and resources available for firefighters. There are also plenty of opportunities to get involved locally, regionally, and nationally. National Fire Sprinkler Association website