Chapter 11: Working in the community Flashcards
Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)
A fire department training program to help citizens understand their responsibilities in preparing for disaster and increase their ability to safely help themselves, their families, and their neighbors in the first 72 hours of a catastrophe.
Demographics
The characteristics of human populations and population segments, especially when used to identify consumer markets; generally includes age, race, sex, income, education, and family status.
Risk Watch
A comprehensive NFPA school-based program focused on injury prevention.
Social media
Forms of electronic outlets through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content.
What are the most decentralized and community based functions of local government?
Schools and the fire department.
What are some of the cultural variations present in US communities?
language, culture, religion, traditions, and beliefs.
How are emergency services and public education effected by diversity in the community?
Safety info shared through public education, and emergency operations must be fine tuned to meet the needs of the community. Info shared should be applicable to and delivered in such a manner the community can understand.
Ways the fire service reduces risk in the community.
Emergency response, fire safety education, fire codes, and code enforcement. The primary goal is to save lives and property from more than just fires.
Two levels of needs for a problem in the community.
Systemic and individual.
How are systemic needs addressed?
Through the development of programs to eliminate or reduce risk.
How are individual needs addressed?
The fire officer must recognize the individual needs with his contact in the community. Often systems are already in place and once a need is recognized the fire officer must connect the citizen in need with the community resource. The fire officer must be proactive about learning which community programs are available.
Public fire safety programs include
- Learn not to burn
- Risk Watch
- Stop, Drop, and Roll
- Getting to Know Fire
- Change your clock-change your battery
- Fire safety for babysitters
- Fire safety for seniors
- Wildland fire prevention programs
What is the primary goal of a public safety education program?
Prevent injury, death or loss due to fire or other types of incidents.
Four objectives of public safety education programs.
- Educate target audiences in specific subjects so as to change their behavior.
- Instruct target audiences on how to perform specific tasks, such as Stop, Drop, and Roll, or operating fire extinguishers.
- Inform large groups of people about fire safety issues.
- Distribute information on timely subjects to target audiences.
History of fire prevention week.
On the 40th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire, the fire Marshals Association decided the date of its occurrence should be observed in a way that would keep the public informed of fire safety. The fire began on October 8, 1871, but continued and did most of its damage on October 9, 1871. Every year since 1922, National Fire Prevention week is observed on the Sunday-Saturday period in which October 8th falls.
The Risk Watch topics that are divided into age appropriate lessons.
- Motor vehicle safety
- Fire and burn prevention
- Choking, suffocation, and strangulation prevention
- Poisoning prevention
- Firearms injury prevention
- Bike and pedestrian safety
- Water safety
- Natural disasters
Who developed CERT and when was it developed?
Los Angeles City Fire Department (LAFD) in 1985
Who adopted and expanded the CERT training materials, and when was this done?
The Emergency Management Institute and the National Fire Academy in 1993. The training was made nationally available by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and moved to Citizen Corps in 2004. In 2013 Citizen Corps listed 2200 CERT programs.
How is CERT instruction delivered?
Training is delivered in nine 2.5 hour sessions, the training covers the following topics.
- Session 1, Disaster Preparedness
- Session 2, Fire Safety and Utility Control
- Session 3, Disaster Medical Operations Part I
- Session 4, Disaster Medical Operations Part II
- Session 5, Light Search and Rescue Operations
- Session 6, CERT Organization
- Session 7, Disaster Psychology
- Session 8, Terrorism and CERT
- Session 9, Course Review and Disaster Simulation
The five step planning process to create and develop a program for the community.
- Identify the problem
- Select the method
- Design the program
- Implement the program
- Evaluate the program
Three steps recommended by the NFPA for working with the media.
- Build a strong foundation
- Use a proactive outreach
- Use measured responsiveness
NFPA provided guidelines for conducting an interview.
- Be prepared
- Stay in control
- look and act the part
- It is not over until it is over
When preparing for an interview in which you want to deliver a specific message.
Identify no more than three key message points in advance and practice saying them in various ways.
NFPA provided 10 tips on using social media to expand safety message outreach.
- Plan a strategy
- Commit
- Be authentic
- Be current
- Be social
- Maintain quality
- Tailor content to each venue
- Be interesting and entertaining
- Consider timing
- Track results
Social Media-Assisted Career Suicide Syndrome (SMACAA).
A phrase coined be media expert Dave Statter to describe the impact of social media videos, pictures, and postings that lead to a sudden change or status for the author of the post.
