Thursday, August 28, 2008
Home Safety Council Expert Network Launched
By joining the Home Safety Council Expert Network, fire and life safey experts gain access to free video and a whole suite of safety education resources to promote home injury prevention in their local communities....
Nominations for Heart Safe Community/PAD Award Due Friday
FIRE CHIEF Staff
Friday, Jan. 16, is the deadline for nominations for the Heart Safe Community/PAD Award sponsored by the International Association of Fire Chief's EMS Section and Medtronic Physio Control Corp....
Shelter Shock
By Asst. Commissioner Keith Harrap Acting Executive Director Operations Support New South Wales Rura
Few, if any, natural disasters evoke the gamut of emotions within a community more than the sight of a catastrophic wildland fire bearing down. The visual...
Speak Without Sound
By J. Freeman King
Smoke curls like a snake around the firefighter's face as fire hisses from the bedroom door. The young mother on the other side couldn't hear the firefighter...
What's in Your Go Kit?
Janet Wilmoth, Editor
Seeing the refugees of California's wildfires reminded me that preparedness is not just about training firefighters. It's about training the people who live in the communities your department protects, the "first layer of defense," according to Under Secretary Michael Brown....
ICC Offers Free Urban-Wildland Interface Code
International Code Council
In an effort to build safer, smarter and stronger homes in areas prone to wildfires, the International Code Council will provide its Urban-Wildland Interface Code free to communities.
"Since we can't stop people from building in areas that are at risk from wildfires, the least we can do is make sure they have every opportunity to minimize the danger," said James Lee Witt ICC CEO and former Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency....
Forest Service pilots pub-ed initiative in weather forecasts
The USDA Forest Service is participating in a pilot program in the West to deliver wildland fire and safety information to the public via TV weather forecasts....
FEMA Unveils Online Board Game for Kids
Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency has unveiled a new, interactive Web-based board game for children as part of...
Maryland County Law Mandates Sprinkler Systems in Single-Family Homes
FIRE CHIEF Staff
The county executive of Montgomery County, Md., signed legislation today making it the largest jurisdiction in the nation to require sprinkler systems in new single-family homes. People who live in other residential buildings will get significant tax credits for installing sprinkler systems....
Get a Fire Protection Week Campaign Toolkit
FIRE CHIEF Staff
The National Fire Protection Association has posted a free campaign toolkit for use by the fire service during Fire Prevention Week, Oct. 5-11. It includes easy-to-use information and new materials never before available online, the NFPA says....
Under Watchful Eyes
By Rory J. Thompson, PIO, Rockville Centre (N.Y.) Fire Department
Take charge of the message that your community sees with an effective fire department information program....
Extended Reach
By Asst. Chief Jon Hansen (Ret.), Oklahoma City Fire Department
When the media and public understand their fire department, cooperation during major incidents and increased budgets may follow....
Beyond Stop, Drop and Roll
By Lani S. Poblete, Publicist, National Safe Kids Campaign, Washington, D.C.
Fires remain a leading cause of unintentional injury-related deaths among children in the United States. Here are some Safe Kids program options to help bring the number down....
Take the Fire Fight Home
By Bttn. Chief Terri L. Wallace, Greensboro (N.C.) Fire Department
Owning responsibility for proactive education is a fire department’s first step to effectively assessing the quality of fire prevention and life safety programs....
Better honey than vinegar
By Chief Daniel Shaw, Placitas (N.M.) Volunteer Fire Brigade
Service announcements and public education don’t have to put a strain on your department’s finances. Common sense and common courtesy may be all you need....
Bells, no smells
By Bttn. Chief Garry McCormick and Sally Young, Planning Officer, Charlotte (N.C.) Fire Department
A countywide plan to equip first responders with monitors and the public with knowledge went a long way in averting a potential carbon monoxide crisis....
Pull Over, Please
By Susan Snapp & Carole Summerall, Public Fire & Life Safety Educators, Columbus (Miss.) Fire Dept.
While state legislators address the hazards non-yielding motorists pose to first responders, take action at the local level with public safety announcements encouraging drivers to pull over....
Talk is Cheap
By Bert Henderson and Phoenix McKinney, Henderson McKinney & Associates Homosassa, Fla.
Media savvy can be yours, even if you can’t afford a PIO. The secret is training all of your responders to handle reporters....
USFA, others plan residential sprinkler strategy
The USFA and national fire protection professionals, who met recently to develop a national residential sprinkler strategy, have agreed to advocate localized...
Battling the quiet crisis
Home Safety Council President Meri-K Appy seeks to quell the rising tide of household injuries with the fire service’s help....
NFPA honors Washington fire district for smoke detector plan
Lacey (Wash.) Fire District 3 and the Lacey Sunsetters Kiwanis Club are the winners of the 2003 Rolf H. Jensen Partners in Public Education Award from...
Rutgers retrofit
By Jay Kohl, Executive Director for Public Safety, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J.
After the New Jersey senate approved legislation requiring fire sprinklers in every dormitory across the state, this university set about the expensive task in near-record time. All it needed was a plan and a little student assistance....
UL panel to study why some kids don't wake to smoke alarms
Underwriters Laboratories Inc. held a Standards Technical Panel meeting on March 7 at its Northbrook, Ill., headquarters to discuss issues relating to...
Don't settle for living in excess
Steve Halford
An inexpensive safety device can reduce the risk of gas leaks. So why aren’t more homes and businesses equipped?...
Never off-duty
Janet Wilmoth
Because that fire made such an impression on her, at the start of each school year, Maureen made it a point to teach her new students how to escape safely...
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