Symposium 5

Presenter

Program

Materials

Greg Adams
Director of Education and Outreach
Tennessee State Fire Marshal’s Office

Greg Adams is the Director of Education and Outreach for the Tennessee State Fire Marshal’s Office, overseeing programs that include fire incident reporting, fire data analysis, fire department recognition, public education, community risk reduction, and the “Get Alarmed Tennessee!” program that provides free smoke alarms for Tennessee residents. Greg joined the Tennessee State Fire Marshal’s Office in 2008, and held a variety positions before accepting his current role in January 2017.

Creating a Statewide Community Risk Reduction Plan

The Tennessee State Fire Marshal’s Office (TSFMO) expanded its fire prevention efforts in Fall 2017 by launching a Statewide Community Risk Reduction Program. Our strategy is to empower fire departments by providing custom community risk assessments along with mitigation strategies tailored to the identified risks. These community risk profiles helped jumpstart local community risk reduction plans. Our profiles use demographic data from the US Census Bureau and fire incident data from NFIRS to create custom analyses for each of the 696 fire departments in TN. Our analyses are distributed to local departments and used to create focused and strategic plans to mitigate their community’s risk for fire. Any fire department that receives a community risk profile is required to submit a proposed community risk plan within 6 months. These plans are then reviewed and approved by a group fire prevention leaders. Once approved, participating is monitored to track the impact of the program.

Presentation

Overview

NOTE: Unfortunately, this presentation did not get recorded. Our apologies.

David Barrett
Executive Officer, Commander
MySafe:LA
Glendale, CA

David Barrett brings more than three decades of senior management experience to MySafe:LA. His responsibilities with MySafe:LA include overall organization leadership, strategic development, developing new programs and relationships. His focus is on changing the way people behave relative to public and personal safety.

FireSmart:LA – CRR Beyond Smoke Alarms

MySafe:LA has evolved its approach to CRR by creating a more holistic implementation called FireSmart:LA – a program that goes beyond smoke alarm installations by generating expanded community engagement, with dramatic results. Smoke alarms remain important, but our program also includes training in CPR, bleeding control, stroke, scene safety, managing spontaneous volunteers, and community readiness via disaster planning. It connects homes, schools, HOAs, houses of worship and much more. During the past 36 months, we graduated more than 12,100 4th and 5th grade students as Jr Fire Inspectors, 120,000 4th/5th grade impressions, have provided 37,200+ smoke alarms, taught 12,500 high school students CPR, 4,500 older adults fire safety, and produced 29 videos and 12 PSAs. We’ve distributed 265,000 wildfire, 106,000 FireSmart, and 34,600 earthquake brochures. Our materials are in more than 150 fire stations, 400 elementary schools, 45 government offices and thousands of homes.

Presentation

Overview

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Dave Barry
Captain/Paramedic
Anaheim Fire & Rescue
Anaheim, CA

Captain Barry is a Paramedic/Captain with Anaheim Fire & Rescue. He has been with the Department for 22 years and has held every rank on his way to Captain. Three years ago Captain was brought into the office as the departments EMS Manager and is currently in that position. Dave has an Associate’s degree in Fire Science and is almost done with his Bachelor’s Degree in Information Technology (IT), he is in charge of the iPad program in Anaheim and very involve with IT at the City. He is also the Manager for the departments Community Care Response Unit that places a Nurse Practitioner and a Captain Paramedic in a low acuity response vehicle to help reduce the need for transports to the ER.

Reducing Community Risk with Emergency Response

Anaheim Fire and Rescue designed a specialized unit with a paramedic and a nurse practitioner to manage low acuity calls. The program has measurably reduced transports to the emergency room, improved availability of EMS units and reduced medical costs in our community. Our mobile integrated health care partnership with local medical providers is demonstrating how we can more effectively manage increasing call volumes as our population ages.

Presentation

Overview

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Joseph DeRousie
Captain/EMT-A
Richland Fire & Emergency Services
Richland, WA

Joseph (Joe) DeRousie is a Captain with Richland Fire & Emergency Services (RF&ES) located in southeast Washington State. Joe has been in the fire service for 20 years both as a career and volunteer firefighter, spending the last 13 with RF&ES. In addition to his operational responsibilities, Joe has led the integration of CRR into the foundation of RF&ES’s culture. Captain DeRousie is RF&ES’s community risk reduction coordinator that oversees the development and implementation of the departments CRR profile.

CRR as a Department Cultural Change Tool

Richland Fire & Emergency Services, Richland, WA utilized Community Risk Reduction (CRR) as a tool to assist a cultural change within its department. This strategy was possible only with the assistance of the National Fire Academy’s (NFA) Leadership Strategies for Community Risk Reduction (R0200) course. Department members attended NFA courses to promote a mindset evolution that would allow CRR to be carried through the department. Recognizing that the impact of CRR is beyond the fire service, RF&ES advocated for and were honored to have their city manager attend this same course. Putting CRR into action has resulted in the reorganization of the department as it pushes CRR beyond a cultural mindset change and into a community-wide resource. A Community Services Team has been developed within the department that will focus on community services through the analysis of community risks.

Presentation

Overview

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Michael Durkin
Education Specialist
Poudre Fire Authority
Fort Collins, CO

Michael Durkin has been the Education Specialist for the Poudre Fire Authority in Colorado for four years. Prior to this, his focus was on international development and he’s worked in education on four continents. He holds a Master’s Degree in Diplomacy from the American Graduate School in Paris and a Bachelors in Sociology from Emmanuel College, Boston.

Community Service Action Teams

The CoSAT program seeks to bring skilled volunteers with unique talents into community-risk reduction efforts lead by Poudre Fire Authority. The program’s pilot event was a series of smoke alarm-install events that paired firefighters with social work students. It has proven successful in building community trust and resiliency while making communities safer for residents and first responders.

Presentation

Overview

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Marius Laursen
Fire Marshal
Mitchell Fire Department
Mitchell, SD

Marius Laursen is the Fire Marshal for the Mitchell (SD) Fire Department. A 20-year veteran of the fire service, he holds a bachelor’s degree from Augustana University and is a graduate of the National Fire Academy’s EFO program. He is responsible for the department’s fire and life safety inspections, plan reviews, public education and fire investigations.

Multi-Family Occupancies: Tragedy Leads to Success

In late 2014, a fire fatality of a technical school student lead to a new inspection and life safety program for the City of Mitchell. This death occurred in a Victorian-style house that had been converted into an R-2 occupancy. During the fire investigation of this property, it was found that the structure had been separated into multiple apartments, most of which did not have secondary egress. Due to the codified laws that were adopted at the time, the fire department was not able to inspect any occupancy with less than 16 living units. New codes were adopted and a new R-2 inspection program was started. The fire department also teamed up with the local police department to teach fire and life safety to local technical and college students. Over the last two years, this program has reached approximately 800 college students and the inspection of more than 1,000 R-2 occupancies.

Presentation

Overview

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Richard Llewellyn
Division Chief
Spokane Valley Fire Department

Rich Llewellyn is the Division Chief of Emergency Medical Services for the Spokane Valley Fire Department where he has worked since 2000. Chief Llewellyn holds a master’s degree in adult education, a bachelor’s degrees in business administration, and an associate’s degree in advanced life support. He is currently enrolled in a graduate program at Harvard University and in the Executive Fire Officer Program at the National Fire Academy. Chief Llewellyn earned the Chief Fire Officer designation from the Commission on Professional Credentialing in 2014.

Integrated Medical Services

This integrated medical services program focused on cardiac arrest survival rates and how our department could improve on our current survival rate from 2011 of 23% to 66.7%. The program had different components and measure points. After an analysis of the data a couple of the programs were implanted over several years. These program were CPR classes that consisted of Friends and Family that are taught by firefighters monthly one class for adults and another for peds, High School CPR class, started Pit Crew CPR, Regional training of Pit Crew CPR, PulsePoint program implemented, and Verified Fire Responder with PulsePoint.

Presentation

Overview

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Jon Nisja
Fire Safety Supervisor
Minnesota State Fire Marshal Division

Jon Nisja started his fire service career in 1978 and has served as Fire Marshal for two communities and as a Fire Safety Supervisor with the Minnesota State Fire Marshal Division since 1990. He supervises the fire loss data, fire protection, training, and fire and life safety education sections for the State Fire Marshal Division.

School Inspection Effectiveness

Most fire officials believe that fire code inspections work but often lack the data or research to demonstrate effectiveness. In 1990 the Minnesota State Legislature enacted a fire safety inspection program for all public schools. Since the inspection program commenced, there has been a 54% decrease in the number of school fires and a 70% reduction in school fire loss. In addition the number of school fires in Minnesota is 47% lower than the U.S. average and the average school fire loss is about 80% lower than the U.S. average.

Presentation

Overview

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Annmarie Pickett
Lieutenant
Worcester Fire Department
Worcester, MA

Lieutenant Annmarie Pickett leads the Worcester Fire Department’s Community Risk Reduction and Public Education Division. She has been a member of the fire department for 18 years and a paramedic for 33 years. Lt. Pickett set the standard for integrating community risk reduction tactics taught at the National Fire Academy into protecting her community. She received the 2011 Massachusetts Fire and Life Safety Educator of the Year award, and is the recipient of NFPA’s 2015 Educator of the Year award. The Division has multiple community service award recognitions.

Teaching and Technology: A Recipe for Fire Safe Cooking

Worcester, MA recorded a total of 559 residential cooking fires in 2014 and a 3.3% increase to 578 cooking fires in 2015, resulting in 1 civilian death and 2 fire service injuries. Working with the Worcester Housing Authority (WHA) to analyze locations and populations at disproportionate risk, WFD identified 4 properties, housing low-income older adults that represented nearly 24% of all reported cooking fires in 2015, with an average of 12 incidents per month. WFD applied for and received an FY15 Fire Prevention & Safety Grant to support a collaborative effort to replace conventional electric coil burners with units installed with Temperature Limiting Control (TLC) technology to prevent auto-ignition. During the period of performance the team retrofitted approx. 800 electric stoves with fire-safe burners and provided on-site safety education to approximately 900 residents. In the last 6 months, ZERO stovetop fires have been reported in units where smart technology burners were installed.

Presentation

Overview

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Samantha Quizon
Statistical Research Analyst III
South Carolina Office of State Fire Marshal

Samantha Quizon is the statistical research analyst for South Carolina State Fire. She serves as the data analyst for the Community Loss Education and Response (CLEAR) Team which is tasked with fire fatality research. As a Community Risk Reduction employee, she, along with seven others, is responsible for public education, data collection, and public outreach. Along with many hobbies, Samantha volunteers with the Ridgeway Fire Department. An alumni of Valparaiso University (Indiana), she also earned a master’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. Samantha and her husband reside in Columbia, SC, and are expecting their first child this summer.

CLEAR Team: Response and Prevention of Fatal Fires

The Community Loss Education and Response (CLEAR) Team responds to fatal fire scenes upon notification to conduct research on the circumstances surrounding the incident. The CLEAR Team has expanded its volunteer personnel from four to more than 30 members statewide, allowing for better response and relationships with fire departments and other community partners. Those partners and available resources are then engaged to support the local community in their time of need. Better relationships with fire departments has allowed for more detailed data collection. This research has helped us focus our educational efforts on our highest risks, having a better understanding of what is killing South Carolinians in fires, and why. The CLEAR Team turns “response” into “prevention” through evidence and building better relationships, which in turn allows us to better serve our state and fire departments their local communities.

Presentation

Overview

NOTE: The opening moments of Samantha Quizon’s presentation did not get recorded.

Heidi Scarpelli
Fire Marshal
Vancouver Fire Department
Vancouver, WA

Heidi Scarpelli is the Fire Marshal with the Vancouver Fire Department in Washington State. Scarpelli provides the leadership for Fire Engineering, Fire-Arson Investigation, Fire Code Enforcement, Community Risk Reduction and the Fire Corps volunteer program. Scarpelli has over 26 years of increased responsibility with the City of Vancouver Fire Department. Scarpelli holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington in Criminal Justice.

Fire Code Officer, Positive Impacts with Code Enforcement

Following the economic downturn of 2008-2010, the Vancouver Fire Marshal’s Office laid off approximately half of its workforce. These workforce reductions combined with the retirements of experienced staff and the inexperience of new hires negatively affected the continuity, performance, and consistency of the department’s fire inspection program. Because of the new political and post-recession fiscal reality, leadership sought solutions to identified gaps by creating a code enforcement program that was effective and cost neutral to the city budget. With this mindset, the department invested in technology, training and maximizing performance, hence a new program was shaped within the city. The fire code officer program was implemented to remove inspection backlog, increase fire inspection frequency on commercial occupancies, reduce the potential of a fire and/or catastrophic event, maintain compliance with the state fire code.

Presentation

Overview

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Christopher Switala
Lieutenant
Mt. Lebanon Fire Department
Pittsburgh, PA

Christopher Switala is a Lieutenant with the Mt. Lebanon Fire Department in Pittsburgh, PA. He has over 31 years of career and volunteer fire service experience, and has been with the Mt. Lebanon Fire Department since 2001. Lieutenant Switala is currently assigned to Operations and Emergency Management, having previously served in Fire Prevention and Community Outreach for over 15 years. He has managed fire inspections and code enforcement, fire investigations, the juvenile firesetters intervention program, and prevention outreach initiatives including smoke alarm installations, home safety visits, and fireplace inspections.

Causal Chain Analysis and Data Driven Messaging

Causal chain analysis based on incident data was used to identify the most prevalent root causes for fire-related risk reduction strategies. Causal chain analysis is a best practice because it examines the comprehensive set of circumstances that contribute to the fire or injury, beyond basic data typically collected. If the chain can be interrupted by an intervention, the risk will be reduced or not occur. Without such a root cause analysis, assumptions may not be correct, and actions may have little effect.

Presentation

Overview