Education

NFPA Journal, Sep/Oct 2004 by Diment, Earl, Mieszala, Pat

WEB SITE: http://www.nfpa.org/edsection

CHAIR: Peg Carson, Carson Associates, Warrenton, Virginia

Hot ISSUES

Fire Safety's Lost Generation

by EARL DIMENT

Traditionally, the two groups that suffer the most fire deaths in the United States are the very young and the very old. If you look at recent reports from NFPA's Center for High-Risk Outreach, however, you might be surprised by what you discover.

The fact is, young children are no longer in the high-risk category, thanks in large part to the efforts we have focused on them. The older population now has the dubious distinction of owning that category alone.

There are many well-documented reasons older citizens are at risk, among them mobility impairments, hearing or sight impairments, and medication-induced mental confusion. If you factor in income levels and all that goes along with that, it becomes pretty clear why these citizens are at higher risk of dying in home fires.

One other fact is also well-documented: Senior citizens constitute the fastestgrowing age demographic in the United States. The population group with the highest overall risk of fire death and injury is growing disproportionately faster than the rest of the population.

To complicate matters further, older citizens living at home are also an extremely difficult population to reach. They are hidden and, in some instances, hiding. The sad reality is that many simply don't feel safe in their own homes. They are often targeted for scams and abuse, and many fear losing their independence if they appear victimized or in need of special services.

What we have is a unique and diverse population that challenges our traditional methodologies. If we don't take aggressive steps to target this population now, however, we run the risk of higher fire death rates in the future.

Our approach must be as unique and diverse as the population on which we focus. There is no one, simple answer. Any program we develop for this population must include educational, institutional, and engineering components, and they must be geared to the unique qualities of this group.

That's why a key component to any successful approach is the development of partnerships with existing organizations that already serve our senior populations. These organizations are critical for program delivery. They've already identified and located, and are meeting needs of, the exact portion of the senior population we need to reach. Even more importantly, they've already developed the foundation of trust so critical for getting through the front door. And last, but certainly not least, these organizations are motivated to do everything they can to keep these people safe.

There are some excellent resources out there. One is NFPA's Remembering When curriculum. Others include lists of local resources available for seniors, emergency numbers posted by the phone, and emergency medical cards listing current medications, allergies, and family contacts. A more hands-on approach could be a survey of common safety hazards administered by homecare providers during home visits. More permanent engineering solutions include home fire sprinklers and modified cooking appliances.

Some of these solutions take minimal resources, while others are more expensive and will take funding. Fortunately, many of the organizations you'll identify may already have the funding and labor to make the kinds of changes you seek. They simply need you to point them in the right direction. You may also be able to use part of their existing budgets as matching funds for grant proposals.

There are many ways to approach seniors' safety, but the time to start is now. To that end, NFPA's Education section, in partnership with the Center for High-Risk Outreach, will co-sponsor a

workshop at the World Safety Conference and Exposition� in Las Vegas next June showcasing some effective programs and tools. Please consider attending. And share your ideas so we can start working towards a safer, more independent future for the people who gave us ours.

Deputy Fire Marshal Earl Diment is a 20-year veteran of Portland, Oregon, Fire & Rescue.

Section Board Calls for ACTION!!

by PAT MIESZALA

The NFPA Education section Board met on May 22, 2004, in Salt Lake City, to discuss a number of items that resulted in plans to further the section's mission of serving fire and life safety educators.

section members will work with NFPA Marketing Specialist Dan Whiting to add information and features to our Web page. Among the information we hope to post are the names of the lead contact for the public fire and life safety educators' association or organization in each state. Please e-mail the name and contact person for your state association or organization, along with any networking information, to Pat Mieszala, NFPA Education section secretary, at pmieszala@comcast.net.

Section members are also invited to submit articles on topics you think might interest section members for possible publication in NFPA Journal "section News" or on the section Web site to Lynn Schofield at captlynnl@msn.com.