Once an analysis is completed, decision-makers need to identify options and alternatives. From time to time, the effects of any actions need to be reviewed to determine if any strategies should be revised. This is the one area where the fire service is weak. We do not have very much information on firefighting outcomes, nor do we place much emphasis on reviewing EMS outcomes internally. Many fire agencies let that data reside in the EMS community.

Social vulnerability also may be an area where we need to be targeting public-education efforts, injury prevention programs and other community-based health programs instead of adding additional response resources. If we truly want to reduce the loss of life from emergency medical incidents, we should tear a page out of the fire prevention textbook and begin to manage the risk as discretely and as specifically as possible.

One tool that could help fire agencies get a better handle on the issue of social structure in their communities is called Community Tapestry. A product of Environmental Systems Research Institute's work in the field of Geographic Information Systems, the Community Tapestry software builds upon the census information. It provides a portrait of 65 different U.S. consumer markets, divided into 12 “LifeMode” groups. These groups are further divided into 11 different “Urbanization” groups. Descriptions are provided for each subgroup so that distinct patterns can be derived from the information within each category. While this methodology isn't used as frequently by fire agencies as it is by other planners in local government, it could shed a lot of light on community lifestyles and help define the propensity for certain types of demands on emergency services. For more information, visit www.esri.com.

This discussion of social vulnerability may raise more questions than it answers. For example, if response time is truly the only parameter to measure success in saving lives and property, what is meant by “saving”? The fire service often looks at property loss and deaths as a byproduct of emergency response, but it seldom comes up with any assessment of what could have made the difference to the victims. If risk assessment is to be meaningful to the outcomes of response, the fire service ought to be able to measure its successes, not its failures.

Looking at the social vulnerability of our communities' residents and addressing all of the ways we can protect them and their property may be the ultimate in customer service.

With more than 40 years in the fire service, Ronny J. Coleman has served as fire chief in Fullerton and San Clemente, Calif., and was the fire marshal of the State of California from 1992 to 1999. He is a certified fire chief and a master instructor in the California Fire Service Training and Education System. A Fellow of the Institution of Fire Engineers, he has an associate's degree in fire science, a bachelor's degree in political science and a master's degree in vocational education.