THE NFPA URBAN FIRE AND LIFE SAFETY TASK FORCE COMMUNITY RISK REDUCTION: JUNE DOING MORE 2016 WITH MORE © 2016 National Fire Protection Association® THE NFPA URBAN FIRE AND LIFE SAFETY TASK FORCE COMMUNITY RISK REDUCTION: DOING MORE WITH MORE JUNE 2016 Authors NFPA Staff Derrick Sawyer Karen Berard-Reed Fire Commissioner Task Force Staff Liaison and Philadelphia Fire Department Senior Project Manager Derrick Phillips Lisa Braxton Battalion Chief Associate Project Manager St. Louis Fire Department Dana Catts Education Specialist Seattle Fire Department David Sawyer Liaison Officer The City of Columbus Division of Fire © 2016 National Fire Protection Association® Executive Summary Fire service leaders face a number of challenges getting the job done — protecting and serving the public, keeping up staff morale, maintaining safety standards for the department and community, facing budget cutbacks — all as resources become more limited. At times the job can seem daunting. However, there is a tool available to help fire service leaders keep pace with a constantly changing social, environmental, economic, and political climate: Community Risk Reduction. It’s the all-hazards solution to the all-hazards response that the modern fire service needs. Many fire service organizations are hesitant to adopt a Community Risk Reduction approach because of the changes required within an organization. Fire service leaders need to keep in mind that Community Risk Reduction will make any fire service organization more efficient and effective in saving lives and property. Community Risk Reduction Community Risk Reduction is defined in NFPA 1035, Standard on Fire and Life Safety Educator, Public Information Officer, Youth Firesetter Intervention Specialist and Youth Firesetter Program Manager Professional Qualifications, as “programs, actions, and services used by a community, which prevent or mitigate the loss of life, property, and resources associated with life safety, fire, and other disasters within a community.” The “More” of Community Risk Reduction Fire service leaders must Adoption of Community Risk Reduction allows a fire • Incorporate Community Risk Reduction department to: into the department’s strategic plan. • Form partnerships with agencies across the • Fully integrate all fire protection strategies municipality that can play important roles in the • Involve the community in problem solving success of the Community Risk Reduction plan. and strategic implementation • Enlist the services of public policy experts • Prevent line-of-duty deaths and injuries and advocates to assist with legislation • Ensure the survival of the organization geared toward risk reduction. • Meet periodically with fire and life safety educators, officers, and managers in the department to track measurable benchmarks as established in the Community Risk Reduction plan. The community-based approach increases public safety because of the collective work with the community to understand, assess, and provide inclusive solutions to community safety issues. 1 2 The NFPA Urban Fire and Life Safety Task Force Community Risk Reduction: Doing More with More Introduction After finishing a 12-hour work day, you head home to relax, Cutbacks are becoming common practice as municipal have some dinner, and watch the evening news before going leaders work to close budget deficits and appeal to the to bed early so that you can have a good start the next day. public with their strategies for fiscal responsibility. Municipal As you are falling asleep, here comes that dreaded ringtone leaders expect fire departments to do more with less. and your pulse quickens. You reach for your cell phone. Firehouses are shuttered, sometimes indefinitely, drawing You know it isn’t someone calling just to see how you’re headlines in the media and the concern of residents. doing. The emotion in the voice on the other end of the call Resources, such as staff, apparatus, equipment, and funding is palpable. for service delivery are at a premium. As a result, limited resources make it difficult for you to accomplish your “Chief, just wanted to give you a heads up. There’s a three- department’s mission. alarm fire and one of our men fell through the roof.” So how do you as a fire chief get the job done in the face Or, “We’re at 123 Johnson Street. We just did a secondary of all of these challenges? How do you adequately provide search and found a body on the first floor in the front of the services required by your community, keep up staff the house.” morale and safety standards in the face of cutbacks, while Or, “Just wanted to let you know we’ve had a train derailment. maintaining the best possible resources? First reports are that there are 200 passengers on board. We’ve already struck the third alarm. Oh, and we currently You have a tool at your disposal: have a two-alarm fire in the Northwest section of the city.” Community Risk Reduction. As you end the call, you’re starting to think about how you’ll Community Risk Reduction is community focused and be able to restore your companies. You’re hoping that there employs the full spectrum of risk-reduction tools. It allows won’t be any other major incidents in the city for the rest you to identify your high-risk neighborhoods, determine of the night. You don’t want any gaps in coverage, or that your hazards, build partnerships, improve safety, and form dreaded phone call you know you’re going to get from effective strategies with limited resources. the mayor. We know the job is heavy. It weighs on you. The aim of this There are many things that keep a fire chief up at night — paper is to provide you, the fire service leader, with tools safety concerns, the budget, and resources are just a few to ease the load, reduce your number of sleepless nights, that come to mind. According to a survey by the International reduce the level of stress when you get that call from the Association of Fire Chiefs conducted during the 2015 Fire- mayor. Community Risk Reduction is the all-hazards solution Rescue International Conference, safety is the number one to the all-hazards response that the modern fire service concern of fire chiefs — the safety of the public, the safety of needs to keep pace with a constantly changing social, firefighters, and safety in general. 1 economic, and political climate. 3 Historical Overview By tradition, the fire service has and firefighting personnel. The report safety and big data for pinpointing understood the need to build and concluded that fire prevention and hazard locations. Chief McGuirk maintain a rapid and effective fire safety education were critical to pioneered the use of civilian personnel emergency response capability. reducing the losses associated with in fire department auxiliary uniforms But over the years, individuals, fire, and that firefighters needed to be to perform the in-home inspections for organizations, and countries have better educated for their jobs Community Risk Reduction. Meyerside concluded that while this approach as firefighters. has a large population of ethnic is essential, it’s not enough. To truly minorities. Chief McGuirk brought in During this time, fire departments mitigate risk requires a proactive civilians from those ethnic groups, began taking pivotal steps to provide approach and community-organized trained them, and had them go to fire safety education to an elementary collaboration. One result is that targeted neighborhoods. school-age audience. Community Risk Reduction has received worldwide attention through The National Fire Protection Community Risk efforts in the United Kingdom, Association (NFPA), a global, nonprofit Reduction inspectors Australia, New Zealand, and the organization devoted to eliminating uncovered additional United States. 2 death, injury, property and economic problems — medical loss due to fire, electrical, and related As early as 1914, the fire department hazards, provided such an educational conditions, addiction, of Portland, Oregon, implemented program for fire service use with the home safety inspections to identify childhood obesity, launch of the Learn Not to Burn® and correct home fire hazards. Other domestic violence Curriculum (LNTB) in 19765. LNTB departments used the same tactic or became the gold standard in providing — which led to the similar ones for years. proven educational strategies that development of other In 1947, President Harry Truman incorporated the philosophy of programs. called a conference known as “The teaching positive, practical fire safety President’s Conference on Fire messaging to children. Safe Kids USA In the United States after 9/11, a Prevention.”3 Upon recommendations was founded in 1988 with the mission philosophical shift got underway. of the conference, in 34 of the 48 to protect children from preventable Educational curricula made a move states in the Union at the time, the injuries. NFPA’s Risk Watch®, the toward providing to all target groups an governors established state fire first comprehensive injury prevention all-hazards approach. The recession safety committees, and 18 states held program available for use in schools, played a role, as well as a shift in conferences. Various programs for was launched in 1998 6. FEMA’s National Preparedness Goal. improvement in fire prevention and With the help of different groups, In the United Kingdom, the concept of protection began to be implemented. such as NFPA and the U.S. Fire Community Risk Reduction had been Administration (USFA), strategies In 1973, a report, America Burning — implemented in some areas since the have been developed. The National President Richard Nixon’s initiative to late 1990s. Fire and life safety experts Fire Academy through the Executive investigate the effects of fire — was point to Tony McGuirk, retired chief Fire Officer Program and NFPA 1021, written by the National Commission from Meyerside Fire and Rescue in Standard for Fire Officer Professional 4 on Fire Prevention and Control. It a suburb of Liverpool, England, as a Qualifications for Fire Officer Level evaluated fire loss in the United States Community Risk Reduction visionary.