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27 September 2024
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Featured FRI Magazine article: Promoting and implementing community risk reduction for the next generation fire service by Rodney Eksteen (FRI Vol 2 no 10)

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Community education initiatives are long-term investments in the community
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The Learn Not to Burn© Preschool Programme South Africa
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Evidence-based fire prevention strategies are an integral part of the next generation fire service
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We need to dispel the myth that embracing prevention strategies will eliminate jobs
​This week’s featured Fire and Rescue International magazine article is: Promoting and implementing community risk reduction for the next generation fire service written by Rodney Eksteen (FRI Vol 2 no 10). We will be sharing more technical/research/tactical articles from Fire and Rescue International magazine on a weekly basis with our readers to assist in technology transfer. This will hopefully create an increased awareness, providing you with hands-on advice and guidance. All our magazines are available free of charge in PDF format on our website and online at ISSUU. We also provide all technical articles as a free download in our article archive on our website.
 
Promoting and implementing community risk reduction for the next generation fire service
By Rodney Eksteen
 
In South Africa, public fire safety education has progressed significantly over the past decade. The concept of proactively educating a high risk population on how to prevent harmful fire and how to survive it has been expanded to include an ‘all hazard’ approach. In certain departments, public fire and life safety education has emerged as a profession with permanent staff allocated to a dedicated public education division.
 
Fire safety engineering, enforcement and educational interventions that mitigate fire loss work very well when applied simultaneously as part of an overall fire prevention strategy. This ‘synergistic’ effect enhances fire prevention and is an important reason why community education must be priority within any fire service mission.
 
The presentation of the fire and life safety educator training by fire chief, Edward Kirtley, in September 2000, was a milestone for the fire service in South Africa. The guidance and direction received over the ensuing years inspired many leaders to implement and further develop fire and life safety education as an integral component of an overall fire prevention strategy.
 
Unfortunately, the South African National Standards (SANS) 10090, community protection against fire, does not include any guidance on community education other than referencing the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards. For example, NFPA 1201, the standard for public fire protection services, requires each fire department to provide fire safety education as part of the department’s community services and to appoint a coordinator for community education. Other standards, such as the NFPA 1001, the professional qualifications standard for fire fighters, requires fire fighters to be able to deliver a community education presentation from prepared lesson plans. Similarly, NFPA 1021, the professional qualifications standard for fire officers, requires fire officers to be able to conduct community education programmes. 
 
In this article we will take a look at some of the important organisational elements to consider when implementing a community risk reduction operation.
 
What is community risk reduction education?
Community education, also known as public education or fire and life safety education, is part of an overall process called community risk reduction (CRR). Community risk reduction utilises prevention processes to reduce or eliminate hazards and risks in the community, thus reducing the frequency and severity of fires and injuries. 
 
The first step in the CRR process is methodical planning (see diagram 1). However, the foundation for long term success is laid long before the planning step is begun. To ensure long term success the most appropriate individuals must be made responsible for the process. In addition to this, there must be strong personal and organisational commitment to making the programme achieve its goals and objectives. The overall organisational attitude about the community education programme is the area where the seeds of success are sown.
 
Can I make a difference?
Over the years many advocates or champions for CRR education in the fire service have made valuable contributions. This can be clearly seen by the many changes and developments that have taken place in fire departments throughout the country. Many of these activists have since left the service or moved on to other opportunities. There are many more coming up the ranks and others that see the impact that CRR education can have, not only for the community but the fire service itself. These individuals are the heart and the soul of the programme. It will be up to them to motivate others, to support the programme and to be involved. While having a sound, rational argument for the CRR programme helps; their beliefs, attitudes and commitment for community education will be what convince others to get involved or to support these initiatives.
 
So, what does this mean to you? First, you must understand what is involved in your personal commitment to CRR education, including the planning process. You must take the time to set your heart and mind in the right direction before you ask others to get involved. Second, you must serve as a catalyst and activist to gain the commitment of the department leaders and with that, the commitment of the organisation. You will have to have their commitment if you are to be successful. 
 
How do I make a difference?
There are several actions that you can take to build and maintain a successful CRR education programme. Firstly, you must make a personal commitment to perform these actions day-in and day-out, regardless of the challenges you face.  Secondly, you must take the time necessary to convince department leaders, especially the fire chief, of the importance of long-term commitment to community education.  
 
Your fire chief may not have any experience with community education, especially if it is a new programme within your department.  The better the chief understands what community education is and what is required to have a successful education programme, the better he/she can support you and your programme. It is your responsibility to educate the chief and other decision makers and leaders, about community education.
 
The department leadership must understand that 1) community education can effectively reduce fires and injuries when used as part of the department’s overall prevention strategy, 2) it takes months and years for community education initiatives to be effective, thus requiring a long-term investment on the part of the department; 3) and any community education effort must be completed in partnership with other community organisations.
 
There are several actions the individual must take in order for obtain support for the community education programme. Those actions are summarised below.
 
Be the community education activist. In any great change effort there are always leaders who step forward and lead the charge.  That person can be you. The CRR education champion must be a cheerleader, an organiser, a promoter, a recruiter and a coordinator all in one. They must get others excited about the possibilities of reducing fires and injuries through community education and then channel that excitement into action and participation. Your enthusiasm must be infectious so that others will want to get involved.  Most importantly, you must keep community education on the minds of your department leaders so that the department stays committed to the programme. One of the toughest tasks you may face is winning the support of other department members. Take the time to inform them of the need for community education and the potential for success. Answer their questions about their potential role in the community education programme. Listen to their recommendations and recruit their assistance and support with marketing your programme to the community. 
 
Be willing to involve the community. The simple fact is that no fire or injury problem can be solved by one organisation or by one person. Preventable fires and injuries are community problems. Their causes are multi-dimensional and are generally related to social and economic issues.  Because of this the solutions must also be multidimensional. This will require that you work inside the community to address the problems. You must continually seek partners that can help with the solutions. These partners can be nongovernment organisations, neighbourhood and religious groups, etc. These partners can help you reach the target audiences; research the problem; deliver the interventions; etc. In addition, you must always remember that you are a partner to them. You must open yourself to providing them assistance. You must keep your commitments and contribute to the success of the team. It is up to you to ensure the relationship with the community team is not one-sided. Remember, community education initiatives are long-term investments in the community. You will have to have the community’s assistance if you are going to be successful with the community education programme.
 
Obtain organisational commitment. The support and assistance of the department and its members is absolutely essential.  There may be a few short-term victories without the organisations commitment, but long-term, the desired community-change will not happen without this level of commitment. Organisational support will help to utilise available department resources for community education programmes. This doesn’t mean that every resource needed will be available through the department, rather, the resources the department does have can be used for community education activities and programmes. This includes the most valuable department resource: its people.
 
When the organisation is publicly supporting community education initiatives it sends a message to other organisations and agencies that reducing fires and injuries in our community is important! This adds credibility to any existing CRR efforts and highlights this undertaking as a priority. Other organisations are going to be watching the department to see if it places a high priority on community education. If the department is supporting community education, those other potential partners are going to be much more likely to get on board and support the programme.
 
In addition, fire department leaders can help make connections with other leaders by facilitating introductions to other influential people so that you can promote the community education initiative directly to these decision makers. This support can open doors that otherwise might not be possible or would require a great deal of time to accomplish.
 
Follow evidence based planning processes. Take the time to understand the steps that must be completed in order to get an operational programme established. This includes completing a planning process, gaining support of the department leaders and developing a partnership with the community. It is easy to begin to believe that we know all the answers to fire and injury problems. We need to remain objective in our decision making and in the use of public education methods. 
 
Before guessing about the community’s problems and risks, conduct a community risk assessment to get accurate data. To determine possible solutions, meet with the target audience and other stakeholders in the target community. Get as much information as you can and then consider what the information means. When you need it, get help in the analysis; academic institutions can be a valuable resource in this regard. One word of caution, you can get lost in trying to make sure that you have all the facts. Don’t allow yourself to suffer from ‘paralysis through analyses. At some point you must step forward, make some decisions and move ahead with the process.
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​What actions can decision makers take to support community education?
Organisational commitment for community education must be long term to the point where it becomes an internalised part of the organisational culture; something that is simply part of the way we do our day-to-day business. The leadership of the organisation must make a personal commitment to help create and maintain organisational commitment for community education. This commitment must result in the institutionalisation of community education. This level of commitment requires strong leadership and is not a ‘one time thing’; it is an all-the-time thing. 
 
There are several actions the organisation must take in order for its community education programme to be effective and achieve its goals.  Those actions are summarised below.
 
Develop and include the community risk reduction goals in a long term strategy. Successful community risk reduction initiatives take time.  Organising a successful prevention initiative will require various elements, such as obtaining resources and support, building community partnerships, developing a relationship with the target audience, implementing interventions, monitoring and evaluation. Some community education initiatives will require a multiyear commitment from the department. For example, school-based education programmes such as the Learn Not to Burn© Preschool Programme South Africa, must be in the classroom over a period of years to be successful. Successful risk reduction interventions don’t happen overnight or in a few days; it takes time and requires an investment on many levels. The department must make a long-term commitment at the beginning of these programmes.
 
Institutionalise community education as an organisational value. In the fire service, fire suppression is a programme that is deeply ingrained as a department value. No fire fighter would ever argue that fire suppression is a key mission of the department. The same should be said about community education. The fire chief and other leaders must work to make community education an accepted and integral part of the department’s culture. Fire and life safety education should be included in the mission statement; it should be a separate programme in the department’s budget; job descriptions should include community education as a required duty; personnel should be trained as community educators and community education should always be part of the department’s overall fire prevention strategy. In this way, prevention programmes also become sustainable and don’t come to an end when an individual leaves the service.
 
Prevention strategies, including community education, are given an equal priority to fire suppression. This is probably the hardest step to take in most fire departments. Suppression is and always will be a key mission of the fire department. However, the greatest mission of the department is to prevent the fires and injuries before they happen. This is not a ‘pie-in-the-sky’ mission; it is something that can be accomplished through a comprehensive prevention programme that includes community education, code enforcement, plans review, etc. For the prevention programme to reach its full potential in saving lives and preventing fires it must be given the same priority as fire suppression. This includes equal consideration when developing the department budget, assigning staffing, and developing community initiatives. As with making community education an organisational value, this task must begin with the fire chief.
 
Commit the department resources to the community education programme. Community education, just like any other department programme, requires resources. Those resources include funding and people. This commitment must come from the top down and the commitment must be for the long term. Internationally, the fire departments with the most successful community education programmes all share one common strategy: every person in the department is a community educator. This includes fire fighters, fire safety personnel, volunteers and even general staff. Everyone must have a responsibility and be involved in some way, in the overall CRR programme. 
 
Using fire fighters in community risk reduction requires recognition and support from the very top of the department but even that will only last as long as the head of that respective department is in place. A new chief, with new opinions, can undo years of effort and kill a successful programme quickly. Firefighters must believe that community risk reduction isn’t just ‘window dressing’ or a way to make the chief look good.
 
Training programmes on community risk reduction must be mandatory. CRR is not something that is normally in the education and training curriculum for fire fighters. Yet, that process is a key to reducing fires and injuries. Fire fighters and fire officers should receive training on how to develop a community based risk reduction strategy, which includes conducting a community risk analysis, identifying the appropriate strategies to reduce the problems and methods for involving the community in the prevention programme. To truly instil the value of these concepts long term, training is critical, as fire fighters can justifiably protest about doing anything without the necessary skills or tools to do it well. Long-term appointment and promotion practices that reward community risk reduction skills can go a long way toward institutionalising them.
 
Fire officers and department leaders find it difficult to support what they don’t understand. By attending training opportunities such as the fire and life safety educator, public information officer and other community risk reduction courses, managers will learn valuable lessons and skills that will be an asset to the community education programme.
 
The department takes a leadership role in the community in terms of fire and life safety education. In most communities the fire department is the most visible organisation with a prevention mission. The department must step forward and take a leadership role by building partnerships, which address fire and life safety issues. This does not mean the fire department must be the major player, nor does it mean that the fire department must assume the primary responsibility for prevention. It means that the department must be a willing and supportive partner in the community engagement process that identifies the major fire and injury problems and then develops solutions to these problems. Then, when necessary, the department must step forward, take a leadership role and guide the process.
 
Summary
In summary, there is more to a successful community education programme than simply a good presentation and attractive handouts. Success is found in doing the right things right. This includes building internal support for community education, understanding the role the community educator plays in successful programmes and creating an organisation that is focused on prevention and community education. In bad times and good and through changing managements, if we are to maintain a high level of public safety and the respective community support for our services we must institutionalise community education.


We need to dispel the myth that embracing prevention strategies will eliminate jobs; in our lifetime, they won’t. In fact, amid budget cuts to fire departments everywhere, budget support has emerged where the fire service is embracing prevention and risk reduction.
 
In today’s tough economic climate, community risk-reduction efforts provide a cost effective opportunity for the fire service to demonstrate a caring and professional attitude towards its public. Many fire departments across the country are experimenting with the concept of actively reaching out to high-risk communities, visiting homes and engaging with the population regarding their many risks. Fire service personnel cannot know everything there is to know about community risk reduction; much like hazmat or emergency medical services (EMS), specialised expertise is required within the service for more complex prevention problems.
 
Accomplishment is often deceptive because we do not see the pain and perseverance that produces it. These accomplishments would not have been possible without the valued contributions of many dedicated individuals that have left their mark on this very crucial fire service responsibility. There are people alive today because of these fire prevention interventions.
 
I strongly believe that evidence-based fire prevention strategies are an integral part of the next generation fire service. Community risk reduction tactics hold the capacity to protect the core role of the fire service whilst ensuring that the service remains relevant in the new economy.


In the end, our job is about saving lives; whether we get credit for it or not. That is the true heroism of the fire service.

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