Fire departments across the country are experiencing cutbacks in staffing, purchasing and training dollars. Many of these cuts will come from fire-safety programming. But even busy fire chiefs can find low-cost ideas for creating and/or maintaining a successful fire-safety program.

Here are six easy steps to create a successful fire-safety program, along with some proven budget-conscious ideas worth consideration.

Step 1: Make fire-safety education an organizational priority

Is fire prevention included in the organization's mission statement? It should be. Including fire prevention in the department's mission statement demonstrates that it is an integral, valid and required part of the organization's purpose.

Organizations that include fire prevention as a tenet of their mission statement understand the importance of not only suppressing fires, but of preventing them. They also realize that fire-prevention efforts can have a positive impact on their organization's overall effectiveness. For example, fire-prevention efforts provide a venue for improving a department's public image within the community, generating community financial support and building public support.

In , Johnson County Rural Fire District # in Clarksville, Ark., decided to implement a fire-safety program with its community partners. Not only did the department see a decrease in life and property loss over the years, but it also found its community willing to financially support its fire-safety program.

Step 2: Identify risks in the community

Conducting a community risk assessment and identifying demographic characteristics will allow the department to evaluate the impact that fire has had on its community.

It is important to identify community risks relative to potential problems. Where do fires occur most in a response area, and what population is affected most by the risk? Identifying the various risks in a community will allow a department to establish goals aimed at mitigating them. Time spent targeting potential risks helps to minimize time and dollars spent fighting fires.

The National Fire Data Center, the National Fire Protection Association, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Fire Administration Web sites can help departments assess the risks in their area.

Through the risk-assessment process, questions such as, "Does the area that you live in have a large elderly population?" and "Has there been an increase in cooking fires?" are addressed, among others. More important, the risk assessment tackles issues most relevant to your community.

Step 3: Establish fire-safety program goals and objectives

Once the mission statement is defined and the community's risks are assessed, the next step is to establish the organization's fire-safety education program goals. Goals emphasize saving lives, reducing injuries and reducing property losses. The objectives should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant (to the mission) and timely.

Step 4: Develop strategies to achieve goals and objectives

Once goals and objectives are established, the next step is to create strategies designed to reduce the community risks. For example, do you need to concentrate efforts on a specific area of town? Are the fires related to a certain population, such as the elderly? If so, focus energies on these populations. The / rule applies to fire-safety efforts, as well — % of the benefits from fire-safety efforts will come from % of fire-safety programming. That is why conducting an effective community-needs assessment is so vital to success. Targeting the highest risk populations will yield the greatest benefits.

How does your organization fit in the plan to reduce community risk? Do you need to collaborate with another organization or organizations to reach the targeted population? For example, if you have a large Hispanic population, you can partner with your local literacy organizations or churches to assist with your efforts. Should you find a risk exists pertaining to the elderly population cooking, considering partnering with the local senior center for cooking-safety classes.

Step 5: Execute the plan

At this point, all levels of the organization should understand the importance of a fire-safety program. Granted, some staff members may not be comfortable with making fire-safety presentations or with giving a fire-station tour, but there are many behind-the-scenes activities through which they can comfortably participate.

The chief serves as a positive role model by participating in and supporting fire-safety education and related activities, as scheduling permits. The chief's leadership and active participation demonstrates in a symbolic way to the staff and community that he not only walks the walk, but talks the talk.

Chief John Mauro of the Southborough (Mass.) Fire Department is very proactive in his department's fire-safety efforts. From participating in the Southborough Firefighters Association's annual Halloween parade and party to the numerous fire-safety presentations he makes or assists, Mauro is alongside his firefighters promoting and sharing fire safety within the community. His organization understands from the top down that fire prevention and fire-safety education are as integral to the department as fire suppression.

Why evaluate? The main goal of evaluation is to demonstrate that your organization's fire-prevention efforts are reaching those most at risk and that these efforts have reduced loss of life and property in your community.

Step 6: Evaluate and follow up

There are many resources available, including a new class at the National Fire Academy, "Demonstrating Your Fire Prevention Program's Worth." This course, currently in the pilot stage, provides participants with the tools and skills to be able to evaluate their organization's fire- and injury-prevention programs.

Through implementing the six easy steps to creating a successful fire-safety program, you and your department will be well on your way to a successful fire-safety education campaign.

Review some Outside Resources for fire chiefs with limited fire safety budgets.

Read a Sample Risk Assessment to see part of a sample risk assessment.

Firefighter and fire-safety educator Dayna Hilton joined the fire service in August 2000. She is the owner of Firehouse Dog Publishing LLC; the author of the children's fire-safety book and audio book, Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog ; and the host of askafirefighter.net, firesafetyeducator.com, and Safety Talk Radio. Hilton, a certified Fire and Life Safety Educator II and Firefighter II, serves on the Arkansas Fire Prevention Commission, is a deputy fire marshal for the state of Arkansas, and is a member of several national fire service committees. She currently shares fire-safety tips on PBS KIDS Sprout On Demand and has appeared on FOX and Friends.

Related Stories

• Mississippi Launches Grassroots Pub-Ed Program
• Essentials of public education
• Home Safety Council Expert Network Launched
• Mutual Aid: Story Hour

Outside Resources

Should the budget be limited in the area of fire safety, low-cost options are available.

If staffing is an issue, consider implementing a Fire Corps program. Fire Corps members assist in non-operational activities and can help fire department staffs implement fire-safety programs and activities. To learn how departments across the country have used citizen advocates in their fire-safety programming, visit www.firecorps.org.

Firefighters, public-health educators, and other fire- and life-safety advocates from around the country are joining the Home Safety Council's Expert Network to benefit from high-quality, home injury-prevention education tools and services. Downloadable, customizable teaching tools for students of every age are available on demand at www.homesafetycouncil.org. Members of the Expert Network can have hard-copy educational materials sent to them via mail. The majority of these materials are free; the department just pre-pays the shipping and handling costs.

The HSC soon will be launching "Start Safe: A Fire and Burn Safety Program for Preschoolers and Their Families," in partnership with the National Head Start Association. The program provides free materials to teach basic fire- and burn-safety lessons to children ages 4 to 6, along with parenting education on key safety messages. In August, Start Safe packages will be available to 5,000 members of the Expert Network, including a training DVD that shows firefighters' effective methods of reaching very young children and their families, as well as methods to evaluate program effectiveness.

The National Fire and Life Safety Educators includes people associated with fire and burn safety, Risk Watch, injury prevention, evacuation planning, safety for the elderly, poisoning prevention, stroke and heart-attack prevention, and any other area that focuses on educating the general public about risks. This group offers fire and life-safety educators an opportunity to network with colleagues and peers nationwide. The group provides real-time opportunities to discuss topical issues, to help problem solve and to make announcements related to safety education. To join, visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NFLSE.

Launched in October 2008, Firesafetyeducator.com provides fire- and life-safety educators with a venue to share ideas. Fire departments and other safety-related organizations are invited to share ideas and initiatives, as well as upcoming events. Low-cost programming ideas also will be featured on this site in the immediate future.

Very soon, Oklahoma State University Fire Protection Publication's will be releasing a new curriculum, "Fire Safety Education for Young Children." It will be available at no charge to departments. The developmentally appropriate classroom curriculum is delivered by early childhood educators with key assistance from the local fire department and parents. Accompanying the curriculum will be a companion DVD with videos on making a fire-station tour and classroom fire-safety presentation.

Another useful tool is the National Fire Protection Association's new public-education e-newsletter, "Safety Source." When individuals sign up for Safety Source, they are the first to get the latest information on happenings in NFPA's public-education division, "Ready for Risk Watch" news, "Remembering When" activities, fire statistics, trends, educational tips, life saves and more. To join, visit www.nfpa.org.

Sample Risk Assessment

The following is part of a sample risk assessment. The complete risk assessment includes data from the local school district, state data — in this case from the Business Development Center at the University of Arkansas — and other national resources.

"Located in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains, Johnson County Rural Fire District #1 in Clarksville, Ark., protects an area of 45 square miles.

"According to the U.S. Fire Administration, Arkansas has one of the highest numbers of fire-related deaths in the United States, with most of those being young children and the elderly. Children under the age of 15 and adults age 65 and older accounted for 46% of reported fire deaths and 25% of estimated fire injuries according to "Fire in the United States 1989-1998."

Even more alarming, in its 1992-2001 edition, "Fire in the United States" mentioned that four states — Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware and Mississippi — have fire death rates that exceed 25 deaths per million population: the rates are the worst among the world's nations. In that same report, it stated that Arkansas children playing with fire accounted for 4% of residential fires and deaths in the state. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also reported that Johnson County is rated nationally between the 75th and 90th percentile in fire- and burn-related deaths and injuries."