Fire safety education is nothing new in schools, but the way fire departments communicate with the public and what information they share continues to evolve.
Evansville and Henderson fire departments have made the move to social media and have expanded their audience.
While fire departments still visit schools area to teach the “stop, drop and roll” maneuver along with other safety measures, both HFD and EFD also reach out to older segments of the population, reminding senior citizens of ways to make their homes safer, and also visiting with businesses.
“When we go out there, we remind people to be careful and pay attention to potential dangers in their homes,” said Jerry Steckler, Evansville Fire Department education officer. “We’ve also been offering fire extinguisher training and that’s been very popular. Using a fire extinguisher can be intimidating, and you don’t really get a chance to ever use one unless you need it. This way they can practice using a fire extinguisher, so they are more comfortable using one if they ever need to.”
Last year, the Henderson Fire Department started visiting independent living facilities and speaking to residents about what to do in the event of a fall, as well as securing area rugs and having someone check smoke detectors in their homes. They also hope to visit Henderson County High School and local middle schools in the future.
When Henderson firefighters visit elementary schools, they organize skits for Fire Prevention Month with themes such as aging superheroes and “Star Wars.” Firefighters have also participated in summer programs at the schools to show students how firefighting tools work.
Along with visiting schools, the fire department has taken to social media to reach a larger audience.
Henderson recently announced a new project to educate the public about fire safety. The department is asking elementary school children to submit questions. In response, the department will create a video featuring Sparky, a dalmatian that will answer their questions. The department plans to post a video once a month on their Facebook page, along with Henderson County School system’s Facebook pages.
“This is our project but also the community’s project too,” said Shawn Crabtree, a Henderson firefighter. “Our fire chief (Scott Foreman) asked us to use more video and use Facebook more to show the public what we do as the fire department. We wanted to take it one step further with the Sparky videos. This is how the world communicates, this is how children are growing up. They get news from the Internet. We want to promote safety and prevent accidents. Social media is a good way to communicate it at once.”
Even the information spread has changed over time to be more in-depth for a younger audience.
“Basic information has changed,” said Crabtree. “Kids now are more savvy than we were at their age. Calling 911 is now ingrained in these children, so we focus more on what to do after you call 911. We work on kids being able to give their name, their address and describe what’s happening calmly. These are basic things kids can do to help emergency responders get there earlier.”
[“Source-thegleaner”]
