Social entrepreneurship is about starting local movements that grow exponentially to solve massive social problems. Fire deaths and accidents are preventable, and yet they claim far too many lives each year. In 2016 there were almost half a million burn injuries in the U.S. and almost three thousand fatalities due to preventable home fires. The fact that so many of these could be avoided with fire and life safety education is stunning. And a prime example of a “massive social problem” that lends itself to a social entrepreneurship solution.
Read More »Fire Prevention
Fire Departments and Transparency
More importantly, isn’t it time that they truly know how important it is for them to practice fire safety behaviors in their homes and businesses? Maybe then they’d have a greater appreciation for having working smoke detectors, complying with building and fire codes, and supporting residential sprinkler systems for new residential construction.
Read More »It ain’t my job. Or is it?
I hear what Dwight’s saying, which is even more reason for firefighters to get a good education on the fire code for their municipality during their entry-level training. We don't expect police officers to go out on the street without knowing the "rules of the game", right? I’m not proposing that every firefighter be trained and certified to NFPA 1031 standards, but I am saying that we as fire service leaders need start training firefighters to be more than firefighters—we need more fire preventers!
Read More »Emotional marketing can make for better fire safety messages
You want someone in that pre-contemplation stage to suddenly go out and purchase four smoke alarms? You’re going to have to find ways to proverbially rip their heart out... go for the gut... make ‘em cry... get them laughing... none of which is accomplished by “it’s the law” or “your fire department wants you to...”
Read More »Tourists: 3 Strategies for Protecting Them During Wildfires
One of the lessons to be learned from the eastern Tennessee fires is that fire departments and their communities can do a better job of proactively providing emergency information to an often-overlooked target population: tourists.
Read More »Insights to Improve Your Fire and EMS Department’s External Communications
Tanya Bettridge, a fire and life safety educator and essayist, offers a unique perspective on how lessons she derived from the recent U.S. Presidential Election can be used by fire and EMS departments to communicate better with their stakeholders.
Read More »Residential Fire Sprinklers: The Power of Words
We’ve got to stop ignoring the “elephant in the room” when it comes to fires in the United States, particularly in residential properties: we live in a culture that accepts that fires happen, fires kill and injure people, and fires destroy property.
Read More »A New Stop Fires Paradigm
Why do we keep building homes and installing appliances and furnishings that don't keep fires from starting and spreading? A new stop fires paradigm is needed to eliminate preventable fires in the USA. We've made safer cars for years, why not safer homes?
Read More »Fire Prevention and Suppression: The Fire Service’s Identity Crisis
Driving a car once was an extremely dangerous activity for the average person (and it still is for people that don’t give it their full attention). In the United States, we’ve made significant reductions in the mortality and morbidity statistics associated with motor vehicle crashes and we’ve done it through education, engineering, and enforcement. We’re far past the time when we need to put more of our energies and efforts into those “3-E’s”—way more!—when it comes to eliminating preventable fires in our communities.
Read More »America’s Continued Addiction to Fire Suppression
Sound rather harsh? Sound unrealistic? So does closing fire stations and laying off firefighters. So does continuing to expose firefighters to increasing levels of risk of injury or death because of negligence on the part of building occupants, developers, and builders. So does continuing to increase the fiscal burden to local taxpayers to pay for an antiquated fire protection model that is reactive rather than proactive. Fire service leaders keep saying that we need to "think outside of the box" and make better use of technology, but more increasingly expensive technology that supports the "wrong" model is not the answer. I believe that the only way to change the outcome is to change the culture.
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