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Breaking Through The Clutter

2008 Colorado State Fire Chiefs Leadership Challenge

Mike Hazell, NFPA Web Publisher

What we’ll cover

• What are the issues?

• The state of fire and life safety education

• Meeting our challenges

• New ways to communicate

What are the issues?The fire problem1,557,500 fires reported in 2007

• 3,430 civilian deaths• 17,675 civilian injuries• $14.6 billion in property damage

Fire department responds to a fire every 20 seconds. 1 structure fire every 59 seconds. 1 home structure fire every 79 seconds 1 civilian fire injury every 30 minutes. 1 civilian fire death every 2.5 hours. 1 outside fire every 41 seconds. 1 vehicle fire every 122 seconds.

What are the issues?

The injury problem*173,753 injury deaths (2005)30,000,000 non-fatal injuries (2007)

Injuries cost the U.S. $406 billion annually.

* Source: CDC

Our mission

Arm fire departments with information and resources to develop and implement public education campaigns aimed at increasing knowledge about fire and life safety.

Change public opinion that residential fires and injuries are "accidents" that can't be prevented and to teach the public what they can do to prevent fires and injuries.

The State of Fire and Life Safety EducationHome Safety Council & Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

•Who is doing FLSE? •What is being done? •How is it perceived in the department? •What are barriers and facilitators? •What are training needs?

www.HomeSafetyCouncil.org> HSC Research

1. Who is doing FLSE?

• 82% of volunteer departments• 99% of career/combination departments• Large departments more likely to provide FLSE. • 12% of departments have staff exclusively

assigned to FLSE. Typically provided by uniformed personnel who have multiple responsibilities.

2. What is being done? • 80% elementary schools

69% fire safety week/month activities40% older adults and health safety fairs22% juvenile fire-setter presentations19% neighborhood sweeps

• 70% focus on fire prevention, escape planning, smoke alarms

• 51% distribute and/or install smoke alarms

• 46% are involved with advocacy efforts

3. How is it perceived in the department? • 40% say FLSE is an important or critical part of

department activity. • When asked to rate their satisfaction with FLSE in

their department, average rating was 52. Career departments, those serving large populations, and those in the Southeast scored higher on both of these measures.

4. What are barriers and facilitators?• Barriers

- Lack of funding- Lack of time - Lack of focus (too many competing priorities)- Lack of personnel, programs, training, and expertise- Lack of knowledge about resources

• Facilitators- free community education materials- free safety products to distribute- information about funding

5. What are training needs?• 93% interested in training; 17% say they can pay

for it.• Printed materials, videos, DVDs or CDs, and in-

person training were recommended formats. • Topics:

- programs for children- smoke alarm/CO detector programs- skill-building in advocacy, evaluation, and grant-writing

Survey comments “Public education is as important in the fire service

as fighting the fires.”

Survey comments “Public education is as important in the fire service

as fighting the fires.” “Prevention should be at the top of our goals but

always falls down the list due to funding.”

Survey comments “Public education is as important in the fire service

as fighting the fires.” “Prevention should be at the top of our goals but

always falls down the list due to funding.” “I’m not real sure what FLSE is. I am sure we don’t

have the money to spend on it.”

Survey comments “Public education is as important in the fire service

as fighting the fires.” “Prevention should be at the top of our goals but

always falls down the list due to funding.” “I’m not real sure what FLSE is. I am sure we don’t

have the money to spend on it.” “Please don’t send anymore surveys! How about

money?”

What does it all mean?

• FLSE among all fire departments is valued.

• Volunteer and small departments less likely to have personnel assigned exclusively to FLSE, and to conduct a wide range of activities.

• Limited resources -- personnel and funding -- are substantial impediments to progress.

Fewer people, less money, high value, high expectations

Facing our challenges

Challenge: Access

What’s changed? Schools have less time; are focused on standardized testing requirements.

Facing our challenges

Challenge: Access

Facing our challenges

Challenge: Funding is scarce or unavailable

What’s changed? As fire departments face dramatic budget cuts, purchasing FLSE materials is tough or impossible.

Facing our challenges

Challenge: Funding is scarce or unavailable

FEMA’s Fire Prevention and Safety Grants$27 million in 2007 for fire prevention & safety programs, and firefighter safety research and developmentwww.firegrantsupport.com/fps

Funding Alternatives for Fire and Emergency ServicesA free 161-page guide to options and implications http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/fa-141.pdf

Facing our challenges

Challenge: Funding is scarce or unavailable

Local coalitionsShare expenses and expertise. Consider expanding beyond “the usual suspects”

Grassroots fundraisingNFPA offers free tips and fill-in-the-blank funding letter

Beverly A. Browning

Facing our challenges

Challenge: Funding is scarce or unavailable

Free educational materials from NFPA Web sites

http://www.riskwatch.org/teach_lessonplan.html

http://www.sparky.org

Facing our challenges

Challenge: Funding is scarce or unavailable

Free educational materials from NFPA Web sites

http://www.firepreventionweek.org

http://www.sparky.orghttp://www.nfpa.org/factsheets

Facing our challenges

Challenge: Funding is scarce or unavailable

Free educational materials from NFPA Web sites

• Home escape grids• Smoke alarm installation guide• Annual research reports• For older adults• For people with disabilities• Easy-to-read materials• Monthly newsletter (“Safety Source”)

Facing our challenges

Challenge: Funding is scarce or unavailable

Free educational materials from NFPA Web sitesFive tool kits mailed to all fire departments and available online.

Nov. 2008 Sept. 2008 Mar. 2008 Nov. 2007 Apr. 2007

www.nfpa.org/toolkits

Facing our challenges

Challenge: Changing ways primary audiences are accessing information

Facing our challenges

Challenge: Changing ways primary audiences are accessing information

Get on board the electronic information freight train or get run over by it!

Facing our challenges

Rule #1: Have a purpose

A horrible truth: Nobody cares about you or your Web site!

•They want/need informationThey want/need information•They want to make a purchaseThey want to make a purchase•They want to be entertainedThey want to be entertained•They want to be part of a They want to be part of a communitycommunity- Vincent Flanders- Vincent Flanders((www.webpagesthatsuck.com))

Rule #2: Make it easy

Who are you? What do you offer?

Rule #2: Make it easy

Make it easy to get around.• Where am I?

• Where have I been?

• Where can I go next?

Rule #2: Make it easy

Source: Jacob Nielsen’s Web site www.useit.com

Rule #3: Write for the WebPrint and Web are different

•Print: READ•Web: SCAN.

Rule #3: Write for the Web

Rule #3: Write for the Web

Rule #4: Keep it short

Omit extra words that get in the way of your visitors getting to the information they want.

Rule #4: Keep it short

Omit extra words that get in the way of your

visitors getting to the information they want.

Rule #5: Chunk your copy

Rule #5: Chunk your copy

Rule #6: “Don’t make me guess!”Memos from Chief Robert Jones

•April 1, 2008•April 8, 2006•April 15, 2008•April 22, 2008

Rule #6: “Don’t make me guess!”Memos from Chief Robert Jones

•Dorm fire safety (4/1/08)•Home fire drills (4/8/08)•Prevent cooking fires (4/15/08)•Get ready for grilling (4/22/08)

Send an e-mail to Chief Jones

Rule #7: Link, link, link

Rule #7: Link, link, link

Find out who links to you…

link:http://www.link:http://www.yourwebsiteurlyourwebsiteurli.e. link:http://www.cnn.comi.e. link:http://www.cnn.com

Web 2.0 (Social Media)

Using electronic/Internet tools to share and discuss information and experiences with others to create value for the user

Social Media

Survey: Americans expect social media (September ‘08)

• 93% of online Americans say companies should have a social media presence

• 85% believe companies should be interacting with consumers through social media

Blogs

Blog = “Web log”A simple Web-publishing tool that allows

writers to post entries (text, images, graphics, audio, video, links). i.e. The Huffington Post, Lifehacker, Google Blog

• Less formal writing• Can feature multiple voices• Content is short, doesn’t need to be as “developed”• Point to related content (and these sites point back to you)• * Encourage feedback, interactive and community building

Blogs

Launched: April 2006Visits: 61,848

Comments: 271

http://nfpa.typepad.com/fireservicetoday/

Blogs

Colchester, CT

Watertown, MA

Los Angeles, CA

Sun Valley, ID

RSS

RSS = “Really Simple Syndication”A format for delivering regularly changing

Web content for people who subscribe.

RSSThe “old” way of surfing the Web

RSS The “RSS” way of surfing the Web

RSS

www.google.com/reader

Reading RSS feeds Building RSS feeds

NFPA users “Feed Editor”,but many to choose from.

Audio and Podcasts

Audio: digital file (.wav, mp3, etc.) accessed via links on your Web site, using some kind of media player (iTunes, Quicktime, WMP, etc.)

Audio and Podcasts

• Institutional knowledge – “hear from experts”

• New way of providing content

• Complements other online content

Digital audio recorders are cheap and easy to use.

NFPA uses “Audacity” to edit audio clips.

Can be loaded onto Web site like any other file.

Audio and Podcasts

Audio and Podcasts

Podcast: a series of digital files (.wav, mp3, etc.) accessed via links on your Web site, using some kind of media player (iTunes, Quicktime, WMP, etc.)

A podcast is syndicated ( ) and tends to be longer form.

This American Life, Real Time Bill Maher, 60 Minutes

NFPA issues two monthly podcasts.

Video

“A picture tells 1,000 words.A moving picture tells 10,000”

Video

Tell your story on a global scale. • related videos• comments, video responses, subscriptions, and easy tracking

Video recorders (“Flip”) are cheap, easy to use, and come with editing software.

Loading to YouTube is free.

Video

Video

NFPA’s most watched video on YouTube:

• Posted 12/07

• 42,755 views

• 38 comments

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