September 27, 2007

Welcome to the Fire Corps E-Update. Fire Corps is a locally-driven Citizen Corps program that allows community members to offer their time and talents to their local fire and EMS departments in non-operational roles. Fire Corps serves as a gateway to information for and about fire and EMS department programs and meets a citizen's desire to serve as well as a department's need for support.

In this issue:

1. Fire Corps Launches New Web Site
2. Spread Fire Prevention Messages During Fire Prevention Week, October 7-13
3. Fire Corps Attends Fire-Rescue International in Atlanta, GA
4. Home Safety Council Hosts a Series of Webinars
5. September is Campus Fire Safety Month
6. Mesa Fire Corps Volunteers Reach Out to Provide Bilingual Assistance
7. Calendar of Events

Fire Corps has updated its web site at www.firecorps.org with a new look and more user-friendly format. The new site still contains all of the tools and resources to help departments and community members start, manage, and market local Fire Corps programs, such as the Fire Corps Starter Kit, customizable sample documents, and a searchable database of registered Fire Corps programs. The new format also offers resource sections customized for your individual needs. Whether you are a department looking to start or expand a Fire Corps program, a community member looking to join a Fire Corps program, or an active Fire Corps volunteer, the web site contains the information you need. Visit www.firecorps.org to view the new site.

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October 7-13 marks Fire Prevention Week (FPW), and the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) and Fire Corps have teamed up to provide fire safety tips each day of the week to help keep your families, friends, and communities safer. Please share these tips and continue to pass on the message of fire safety every day. Consider asking local media outlets to post the Fire Corps’ FPW Letter to the Editor to inform the public about FPW and encourage members in your community to help by volunteering with their local Fire Corps program. Together we can all make a difference.

FPW Tips of the Day

• October 8 – Practice Your Escape Plan
• October 9 – Stay Warm, but Stay Safe
• October 10 – Smoke Alarm Safety
• October 11 – Start a Fire Corps Program
• October 12 – Candle Safety

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Left to right: Melissa Speed, Larry Curl, Dayna Hilton, Lori Moon, and Sparkles

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Thanks in part to funding awarded through a 2006 Fire Prevention and Safety grant, the Home Safety Council (HSC) is hosting a series of 10 Webinars designed especially for members of the HSC Expert Network. The series is designed to introduce a wide range of cutting edge research and proven home fire safety and disaster preparedness methods that can be implemented in the community. One Webinar is presented each month.

The next Webinar will take place on October 17 from 1-2 pm EDT. Since October is Fire Safety Month, the Webinar will focus on fire safety – from research to practice. Join the HSC to preview the results from recent research that shows there is still room for improvement in the public’s fire safety practices. The HSC will also highlight a few of its resources that are available for use in your local fire safety education practices, including theAll-Ways Fire Safe at Home Toolbox (available at www.firecorps.org) and the new interactive online home injury prevention tool MySafeHome.org. Learn the most effective ways of leveraging the new research findings and implementing the tools available to help keep those in your community safe from fire. Register and participate in this online session.

View archived HSC webinars and learn more information about the HSC at www.homesafetycouncil.org.

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The People’s Burn Foundation, in cooperation with Campus Firewatch, recently released Student Attitudes and Views of Burn and Fire Safety, a study conducted to learn what college students know about burn and fire safety and determine how to effectively communicate the importance of these topics to this age group. According to the study, the 2006-2007 academic year was the most fatal one on record, with 20 campus-related fire deaths identified by Campus Firewatch. 

September is Campus Fire Safety Month and it is a great time for your Fire Corps members to reach out to local campuses with fire and life safety messages to decrease this unfortunate statistic. There are many ways Fire Corps programs can inform college students about how to protect themselves, their friends, and their property from fires. These include conducting smoke alarm checks at off-campus houses, distributing fire and life safety literature in dorms and during collegiate events, and partnering with campus organizations to recruit students to become members of your Fire Corps team. The list is endless, bound only by your imagination.

Campus Fire Safety Month has served as an incentive for schools across the country to reach out to their students and teach them the importance of knowing how to prevent fires from occurring, or, if one should break out, what to do. For more information on Campus Fire Safety Month, visit www.campusfiresafetymonth.org.

Read the full study - Student Attitudes and Views of Burn and Fire Safety.

Fire Corps members from Johnson County RFD#1 in Clarksville, AR write fire safety messages on the sidewalks of the local campus, University of the Ozarks.

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September is National Preparedness Month, and all across the nation fire/EMS departments and community members have been working to better prepare their communities for possible emergencies. One of the focus areas of National Preparedness Month is multicultural preparedness. Many regions throughout the U.S. have diverse populations, and it is important that everyone receives and understands the lessons of national preparedness. The Mesa Fire Department in Mesa, AZ, understands the challenges of reaching a diverse population. This career department utilizes five of their 150 Fire Corps volunteers as a Bilingual Assistance Team. All members of this team are fluent in Spanish and provide support to Mesa Fire Department employees and the Mesa community with oral and written translations, bilingual presentations, community events, and general office assistance.

One of these volunteers, Moises Ponce, has truly shone as a Bilingual Assistance Team member. He is a recipient of the Presidential Service Award and is an important asset to the mission of the Mesa Fire Corps program. Ponce joined the Fire Corps program two and a half years ago and has volunteered approximately 325 hours with the Bilingual Assistance Team. He has translated educational literature, taught preschool classes in English and Spanish, attended community outreach events that target the Spanish-speaking population, translated code information during fire prevention inspections, and provided bilingual media support during a water safety event. Through the dedication of volunteers like Ponce and the rest of the Bilingual Assistance Team, regions of the country with diverse populations can be well prepared to respond to emergencies with greater efficiency and more potentially life-saving action.

For more information on the Mesa Fire Corps program, contact Deena Bolland at Deena.Bolland@cityofmesa.org.

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Below is a list of events, conferences, conventions, and shows that Fire Corps staff will be attending, as well as nationally recognized dates which Fire Corps would like to acknowledge.

Campus Fire Safety Month
September

National Preparedness Month
September

12th Annual NAHF International Training Conference
National Association of Hispanic Firefighters
September 26-30
Dallas, TX

Fire Prevention Week
October 7-13

National Emergency Preparedness Conference
October 11-13
Sacramento, CA

Fire Marshal Roundtable
October 18
Ocean Shores, WA

FireRescue Conference & Expo
November 7-10
Las Vegas, NV

Campus Fire Forum
November 14-16
Austin, TX

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