NFPA Public Education Division. Your Source for Safety Information Annual Report

Transcription

1 NFPA Public Education Division Your Source for Safety Information 2010 Annual Report

2 Dear Friends, The NFPA Public Education Division had a busy, successful year in We created several new initiatives while continuing to improve and strengthen our existing programs. I m proud of our team, which worked hard to position NFPA as the leading source for safety information. As you will see from this report, we have achieved many of our goals for Our accomplishments were possible because our high-performing public education staff members are dedicated to NFPA s mission to save lives. In our commitment to eliminate fire deaths and injuries through effective public education programs and information, the Public Education Division continuously strives to implement strategies to effectively reach those at highest risk: young children, older adults, residents in low-income communities and people with disabilities. Our wide range of activities from our public education advisors to large urban community projects is geared toward achieving our mission. It is my pleasure to lead the Public Education team. Our varied efforts and initiatives have benefited the fire service, teachers, and families; focused on those at highest risk; and branded Sparky the Fire Dog as our mascot. As always, I appreciate and value the input of NFPA management and our Board of Directors. Thank you for your support in 2010, and I look forward to a successful year ahead. Judy Comoletti Division Manager, Public Education The name and image of Sparky are registered trademarks of the NFPA.

3 El Paso Selected for Two-Year Urban Outreach Project Urban Fire Safety Task Force The Urban Fire Safety Task Force which comprises representatives from 20 United States cities and Ontario, Canada, examines the unique challenges facing fire and life safety educators in large cities with populations of 250,000 or more. In June 2010, the Task Force met in Las Vegas to discuss best practices for implementing strategies, addressing ways to identify problems facing urban neighborhoods and to effectively reach those neighborhoods with appropriate support and information. It also focused on how to conduct home visits; how to assess and determine which programs will be most effective; how to track and measure program impact; how to motivate fire departments and other groups to participate in public education and outreach and how to train teams so that they can effectively implement programs. Task Force members voted on a measure requiring NFPA to create and develop a standard on staffing public education and risk assessment programs the measure passed unanimously. In September, the Task Force met again to discuss methods for strengthening public education and outreach programs in today s economic climate and related challenges that fire departments face. Also addressed were the Task Force s links with other fire service organizations and ways to share Urban Fire Safety Project resources. In 2008, NFPA Public Education began working on special implementation projects in targeted cities, helping city fire departments implement two or more recommendations from the Urban Fire Safety Study report. In 2010, we began a two-year project with El Paso, TX, providing the fire department with FPW banners and educational materials for each of its 36 fire stations. We also worked with the fire department to distribute educational materials to one of its high-risk communities. The materials, which included easy-to-read educational handouts addressing multiple fire prevention issues (cooking, electrical safety and escape planning) in both English and Spanish, were developed and printed specifically for El Paso residents. Fire safety materials on blocked exits and bars on windows were provided in English and Spanish as well. 3

4 I am one of the lucky scholarship winners of the Remembering When conference. The highenergy presentations and collaborative environment were conducive to idea sharing, problem solving and networking. Thank you for making this possible. Marcia James, fire safety educator Record Number of Applications for the 2010 Remembering When Scholarship NFPA received applications from 51 cities and towns for its annual Remembering When scholarship, a 37% increase from the 37 applications received for the 2009 scholarship program. In November, award recipients attended the Remembering When Conference at the Marriott Long Wharf in Boston. After training at the conference, each awarded city or town is required by the scholarship to conduct at least five presentations to groups of older adults and 25 home visits in their communities. Recipients are required to submit a report of activities to NFPA by December The results of the 2009 Remembering When Scholarship Program were submitted in Of the 32 scholarships awarded in 2009, 26 reported their program results. Program participants conducted 333 group presentations, reaching 10,547 older adults and caregivers. Fifty-four train-the-trainer sessions were conducted to teach staff and home visitors how to do a Remembering When home visit. The 1,077 home visitors and staff who were trained in 2009 conducted 2,158 home visits during the year. NFPA Public Education Division Conducts Unprecedented Study on Messaging NFPA received a Fire Prevention and Safety Grant from the Department of Homeland Security to determine the effectiveness of positive and negative messaging for children. We partnered with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Center for Injury Research and Policy, to conduct the study with 620 children and their parents. Positively and negatively framed videos were created to test children ages 4-5 and 6-9. The overall conclusion of the study, completed in November, was that for both younger and older children, watching positively framed videos was more effective than watching negatively framed videos. When parents discuss media content with their children, children learn more. Overall, the findings suggest: The impact of safety messages on children will be greatest when messages are framed positively. Parents should be encouraged to discuss these messages with children. Parents should be provided with discussion guidelines. The Public Education Division was the project manager for this study, providing technical review of materials created for the project. The final report and a guide to help fire departments evaluate fire and life safety materials are available on NFPA s website. Results of the study will be presented at the 2011 NFPA Conference & Expo in Boston. 4

5 Educational Message Advisory Committee (EMAC) Issues a Desk Reference In 2009, the EMAC messaging process was revised to make its messaging document more user friendly and to elicit broader feedback from the public. In 2009, we received 46 submissions for suggested changes. In a continued effort to increase response levels, we created an electronic submission form and widely publicized the need for feedback in NFPA Journal, NFPA s electronic newsletters (in-house and external), and fire service publications. As a result, the public response in 2010 increased significantly, with a total of 116 electronic submission forms received. The revised educational messages were posted on the EMAC landing page. A printed version of the document was also created, designed for use as a desk reference. Fire Safety Information for Immigrant Populations Cooking, electrical, and escape planning information is available on nfpa.org for urban communities with immigrant populations. Easy-to-understand messaging and drawings present basic fire safety information in languages such as Portuguese, Spanish, Korean, simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, and Vietnamese. Information with drawings depicting diversity are also available in English. Fire Prevention Week on the Web All the content on the FPW website is developed by Public Education. The site, which runs from June 1 to November 1, features a wide range of campaign materials, downloadable resources, and age-appropriate lesson plans for multiple audiences. In 2010, the site, whose theme was Smoke Alarms: A sound you can live with, had 155,089 visits. The four most highly visited pages were: fire service 34,050 visits teachers 33,604 visits kids and families 21,082 visits fast facts 16,329 visits Website traffic results are carefully reviewed to help determine which sections are most useful to visitors and to help identify additional resources that can be added to the following year s campaign. Phương án và Thực hành thao diễn chữa cháy tại nhà 1 2 Đề ra phương án giải thoát cho m ình. Nắm rơ địa điểm tập trung bên ngoài. 3 4 Thảo luận, tập dượt với từng người trong gia đ ình bạn. Xác định những người cần giúp đỡ. A sound you can live with First Learn Not to Burn Lesson Plan on NFPA.ORG Nếu có thể, hoạch định hai cách thoát ra khỏi mỗi ph òng. The LNTB Program lesson plans and home link activities that go home to parents and caregivers are being revised. The first lesson, Practice Your Escape Plan for Child Care Providers, along with an updated song, was launched on nfpa.org. New lessons and songs will be added throughout 2011, making the entire program available online. NFPA is working with outside consultants to create new lesson plans as well as new music and remixes of some of the original LNTB Preschool Program songs. Providing the LNTB program free on nfpa.org for downloading will allow fire safety and early childhood educators to have access to this acclaimed program. Nhấn nút báo khói để bắt đầu thao diễn thực tập chữa cháy. 5

6 Education Membership Section In 2010, several electronic updates were incorporated into the Education Member Section, making associated programs and activities more streamlined and efficient. One key change was to transition balloting of the Section s Board of Directors from snail mail to an electronic process. As a result, almost all voters submitted ballots electronically, which virtually eliminated hours of paperwork for NFPA staff and made submissions easier to read. In addition, the Section launched Education Section Update a biannual electronic periodical that works to keep members up-to-date on Education Section news. Included in the periodical are member and board member profiles; highlights of education sessions sponsored by the Section to be held at the NFPA Conference & Expo; articles on best practices ; a featured product that public educators need; and industry trends. Education Section Update is sent to more than 1,300 members. Just wanted to say THANK YOU and great job on the Education Section newsletter that has been published. It looks awesome and continues to improve each time we send this out. I appreciate all of the input and great articles that were submitted. We truly have an excellent team. See you all in November! Brian McQueen, section board member Public Education Materials Popular Section on NFPA.org Safety Information is the second most visited section of NFPA s website (second only to Codes and Standards). The Public Education Division is responsible for providing all content for this section, which is divided by audience and programs, making information easily accessible. Content is changed and updated on a regular basis to provide seasonal messaging and to incorporate NFPA s most recent statistics. This section also promotes NFPA activities and initiatives and addresses timely issues throughout the year. NFPA s safety tip sheets are a popular download. Topics covered in 2010 included escape planning, generator safety, high-rise apartment and condominium safety, hotel /motel safety, and Thanksgiving safety. The Safety Tips sheets are visually appealing and easy to read, with simple, straightforward messaging. In 2010, we completed our library of online community tool kits for the fire service with our latest kit on home escape planning. All the kits provide a wide range of resources and information for fire departments, giving them the tools and guidance to conduct a comprehensive community-wide fire safety campaign on a variety of topics. 6

7 Life Safety Educator of the Year NFPA s Fire and Life Safety Educator of the Year Award honors educators who play a lead role in making their community s safer. The number of applicants for this award increased dramatically: 16 applications in 2010, compared with only two in This increased level of participation is largely attributed to aggressive publicizing of the program, which included distribution of news releases announcing all phases of the award process, with coverage in NFPA Journal, NFPA s electronic newsletters, and other fire service publications, including firehouse.com, firechief.com, and Inspector911.com. Beverly Thompson, public education specialist with Dekalb County Fire Rescue in Tucker, GA, was the recipient of the 2010 award. Ms. Thompson was honored during the general session at the NFPA Conference & Expo in Las Vegas. Rolf Jensen Grant The Rolf H. Jensen Memorial Public Education Grant is presented annually in support of fire and life safety education community-wide programs and campaigns. Funded by the RJA Group, the grant is open to any fire department in the United States or Canada. NFPA s Public Education Division received 20 applications for the 2010 grant, which was awarded to the Grand Traverse (MI) Metro Fire Department. The grant supported the fire department s program, Customized Outreach, which targets people with disabilities. The project, which is directed at older adults who are deaf, includes presentations of NFPA s Remembering When curriculum for older audiences; the purchase and installation of vibrating, strobe, and low-frequency smoke alarms; and the development of a class on emergency sign language for first responders. The department also made use of disabilities materials provided on nfpa.org. Safety Source Doubles its Reach Safety Source, the Public Education Division s monthly e-newsletter, provides NFPA s latest public education news to educators, fire departments, and general consumers. Subscriptions to this publication more than doubled in 2010 the year began with 29,771 subscribers and ended with our December issue being ed to 60,318 people. 7

8 A New Sparky Debut Sparky.org, NFPA s acclaimed website for kids, continues to be a major focus for the Public Education staff. In November 2009, we launched a completely new Sparky. org. The interactive site, which is free of advertising and is safe and secure for children, features Flash technology based games, electronic greeting cards, printable materials, cartoons, and animation clips. Each month, a new activity for kids and families is posted on the site. A new game, Crack the Code, for kids ages 6-10, teaches fire safety while engaging kids in solving a mystery. As a result of the game s popularity, a monthly activity has been added to the site called Crack the Code. This activity allows kids to use the secret decoder ring that they win after completing Crack the Code to decipher a monthly safety message or fun fact. In addition, three new electronic greeting cards were developed. These fun electronic cards let kids of all ages send special messages to their friends and families. In addition, the new parent and educator section of the site offers monthly activities and safety information to keep parents involved in safety at home and provides educators with the latest fire safety education tools. In 2010, the Sparky website received 568,135 site visits. The top downloaded item for all NFPA websites was Sparky s Checklist, with 39,818 downloads. The Public Education Division will continue to add fresh material to the site to keeps kid engaged and coming back. I am a graduate student and found your site (sparky.org) as a result of research. Just love your site, for all information for all ages Keep up the great work. Helen Dunkin 8

9 NFPA Public Education Network Participation Nears 100% NFPA s public education network program brings together fire and life safety educators from 49 states and Canada s 10 provinces and three territories, thus giving NFPA educational representation at the state and provincial level throughout North America. The day before NFPA s annual conference in Las Vegas, 46 network members attended a one-day meeting, which served as an important opportunity for network members to meet, discuss issues of concern, and learn about NFPA s public education initiatives. Planned and organized by NFPA s Public Education Division, the meeting also enabled network members to meet regionally with their assigned Public Education Advisor and participate in round table discussions on issues they identified as being of interest. NFPA Divisions Collaborate at National Conferences For the first time, the Public Education Division participated in two national exhibits the Fire Rescue International Conference and the International Association of Firefighters Conference in collaboration with NFPA s Public Protection, Public Affairs, and Wildland Fire Operations divisions. Both events exceeded our expectations in terms of traffic and interest in NFPA s public education materials. As a result, NFPA will continue this national effort by participating in three conferences in 2011: the two mentioned above and the Fire Department Instructors Conference. Information about NFPA s online educational resources, along with samples of our many fire safety education materials, will be featured at each exhibit. Public Education Advisors Art Pullan, Pat Miezala & Antiliano Estrella Advisors are NFPA s Eyes and Ears The NFPA Public Education advisors serve as an extension of the Public Education Division, consistently and effectively reaching out to their states and provinces with NFPA information and resources and carefully listening to the needs of educators in the field. Last year, the advisors collectively participated in 39 conferences as speakers or exhibitors and visited 42 of the public education network members to help them strategize public education outreach initiatives in their states and provinces. NFPA s Public Education Division communicates with the advisors on a regular basis to keep them updated on current NFPA activities. In turn, the advisors provide monthly reports to keep us apprised of activities and related progress in each of the seven regions. 9

10 Educators get support to attend NFPA Conference FPW Outreach to More than 29 Million The Public Education Division worked closely with Scholastic, Inc. to promote FPW 2010 and its smoke alarm theme. Two versions of the October 2010 issue of Scholastic magazine were developed: one targeted students in grades K-2, and the other grades 3-5. Both editions featured Sparky the Fire Dog taking kids on a journey to a natural history museum to learn about historic inventions in fire safety and the importance of smoke alarms. Lesson plans and activity sheets provided age-appropriate smoke alarm messaging and encouraged students to visit sparky.org. Through its distribution of posters and take-home materials, Scholastic provided a total potential reach of 1.3 million teachers, 10 million parents, 9.8 million students, and 4,000 urban libraries. Scholastic creates a mini-website each year to support the FPW. There were 97,000 visits to the Scholastic FPW site during the 2010 campaign. Each year Scholastic asks teachers for their feedback on the program. In 2010, 75% of teachers used the FPW program in their classrooms. In addition, 97% of teachers used NFPA s online resources, with site traffic from July 15 to October 19 reaching 278,672 visits. An additional 8 million families were reached through a Parent and Child magazine promotional page, which features Sparky the Fire Dog and encourages parents to visit Sparky s website. NFPA received 71 applications for the 2010 Fire and Life Safety Educator scholarship. This scholarship provides funding to help educators attend the NFPA annual Conference & Expo. Scholarship winners attend the educational sessions offered in the public education training track. NFPA selected 30 educators to receive the 2010 scholarship. A reception hosted by Public Education provided an opportunity for the scholarship winners to meet and network with NFPA Public Education staff, advisors, and network members. Thanks for your help with getting our group approved to present at the NFPA Conference. The hard work you do is greatly appreciated. Derrick, fire safety educator 10

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