Fire Prevention: 30 Minutes to Save a Life

The fire service can no longer afford to ignore, or push to the back burner, the need for prevention services to be a part of our operational plan for addressing not only the fire problem in our community but also all the risks firefighters have been called to address. The problems are growing, the community is changing and we need to adjust our services to remain safe, successful and relevant. Why? I’ll explain.

For traditional reasons

Our enemy, fire, has taken the high ground. Ignition to flashover occurs before we can get safely into attack positions, and we can no longer afford to fight this battle with the same battle plan, calling for more weapons and more soldiers and throwing more bodies at the enemy. We need to adjust our battle plan to include counterattacks by getting ahead of the ignition through prevention services, including strong and aggressive code adoption and enforcement. We may not be able to always stop the fire from starting, but prevention efforts can give us the advantage by limiting its spread and growth, keeping our enemy to a manageable size, and allowing us time to mobilize our forces and get into position to kill it.

For the safety of our firefighters

We have been aggressively, and very successfully, pursuing the reduction of firefighter line-of-duty deaths, and to that end, it is obvious that a part of that strategy should also include strong efforts to eliminate the risk to begin with. What kills us isn’t just on scene. Every wisp of smoke contains carcinogens, and as industries continue to use chemicals as part of fabric and structural enhancements, this problem will only get worse. Prevention services not only involve preventing the fire but also its growth and spread and controlling of cancer-producing toxins.

For our budget

Our society has become more prevention-orientated and risk-management aware, and has become more demanding of accountability and efficiency from their governments. Add to this the “have to have it now” and “what have you done for me lately” mentality and it’s imperative that we remain in the public’s eye providing a valued service daily, and prevention services are one of many we can do easily.

Our image

Society today has many fears and concerns, but fire is not on the top of that list, therefore, neither is the fire department when it comes to funding priorities. We cannot afford to pigeonhole ourselves to fire suppression services only. We need our communities to view their overall safety and security as synonymous with a strong fire department. There are obvious concerns that our society has that we cannot solve, but simply having a seat at the table with community leaders, and showing a willingness to adapt and expand, will help us in maintaining a strong force that is also equipped enough to handle what will always be our core responsibility—fire. Another way to put it: The reason your community does not have a fire problem is because you have a strong, fully staffed fire department preventing it.

It’s the right thing to do

We are some of the most trusted people within our communities. Almost every commercial depicting apple pie and the American way show firefighters and/or fire trucks. There is no other entity, nor any other group of people, who are in such a position to influence positive change in their community. Our mission is to alleviate pain and suffering, and even the best and most successful fire attacks cannot remove the damage and scars once the flames start. If our mission is to protect life and property, then the best way to do this is to prevent the event from starting. With our genuine compassion, concern and ability to get the job done, combined with our knowledge of fire and accidents learned through both educational and personal experiences, sharing that information and putting it to use to prevent injuries and destruction is just the right thing to do.

How to start

The main objection to increasing prevention activity is lack of funding and resources. This is baffling coming from a profession that will engage in an aggressive interior attack against an out-of-control force of nature with minimum staffing and in extreme weather with limited resources just to possibly save a single life, then claim that spending 30 minutes at a community event to discuss smoke detectors is too taxing. Firefighters find ways to solve problems no matter the odds, and prevention activities should be among those “problems” for which solutions are found.

Many firefighters feel that a good prevention program involves money, resources and staffing, all tied up in extensive and elaborate programs that involve public speeches, clowns and puppet shows, pre- and post-tests, etc. Not so! While there are departments equipped to conduct such elaborate programs, a successful prevention program does not require it. A simple conversation at a community display on the bumper of the fire truck, or while drinking a lemonade at a community gathering, such as a block party or fair, can have just as much of an impact as the most sophisticated of programs.

Getting out from behind the bay doors and into the community is all it takes. This does not mean you have to skip training or take apparatus out of service but rather simply doing it when and where you can. If once a week is all your department or station can afford, then do it once a week. If you can do it once a month or once a quarter, then do it once a month or once a quarter. Isn’t the possibility of saving a single life, possibly your own or the firefighter sitting next to you, worth that time? Scheduling a prevention activity should be seen equally as important as scheduling fire suppression training or RIT team training, as both accomplish our core mission. This is not to imply a reduction in suppression training! But simply finding the best balance a department can.

I fully understand the demands placed upon fire departments today, with mandated training hours and required continuing education, but the fire service can no longer afford to ignore prevention activities as an operational intrusion to address the fire problem any longer. Preventing fires needs to be equal to suppressing fires, as both accomplish the same desired result, which is fire protection, and that is what we do and what we are all about.

Firefighters are problem-solvers who will go against any odds and overcome any challenges if there is the slightest chance to save a life. It’s what we are, who we are and what we profess our way of life to be about. One personal contact at one event can save the life of a civilian or the life of responding firefighters, and fire departments need to bring that same “conquer all” attitude to finding the time to add prevention activities to their schedules, be it once a week, month or quarter.

Right now, somewhere in your community is your next fire statistic—a home in which a fatality will occur. Is finding the 30 minutes to reach that individual to save their life, or that of your fellow firefighters, worth it? Could that one discussion about the importance of smoke detectors be enough to prevent disaster? Maybe. But when it comes to saving a life, “maybe” has always been enough for firefighters to do whatever has to be done.