Civilian fire deaths in residential fires were decreased by 40 to 60% in areas where fire departments had implemented firefighter home-visit programs. Phillip Schaenman — president of TriData Division, System Planning Corporation — said U.S. departments should evaluate, adapt and implement such proven initiatives to reduce the fire-death rate by 40% in five years.

“I think it’s highly likely that this program would work in the United State and we are currently testing it in nine cities,” Schaenman told attendees of the Center for Public Safety Excellence 2011 Conference in Orlando, Fla. Liverpool, England, and Quebec and Ontario, Canada, have instituted the program with “spectacular results.”

“Canadian cities have done [the program], and although the line firefighters were reluctant to participate, once they got good feedback from the citizens, they really got into it,” he said.

According to Schaenman, they tried to target high risk households and “shockingly, they do not have working smoke detectors in 30% of the homes.” Firefighters installed detectors in these homes.

TriData has conducted 170 organizational studies and independent and collaborative research on the U.S. fire problem. The United States has the highest fire-death rate in the western world, Schaenman said, and nearly the highest in the entire world. To address these high rates, he suggested initiatives that other countries are finding success with:

• Consolidate administration to improve the ability of fire organizations to implement change and adopt, on a regional basis, appropriate programs and measures for the regions unique fire problem;
• Make more time for and institutionalize the application of fire prevention efforts among all work units, especially the local fire company;
• Promote citizen self-help through training and organization for neighbors to help neighbors;
• Target prevention efforts carefully, and require a real and dynamic understanding of a communities’ unique hazards and risks;
• Conduct evaluations at least annually at the unit and community level, of the effects of prevention efforts and target resources and programs with precision for the best results; and,
• Provide better management of fire and injury prevention on the institutional level.

The three-part study " Global Concepts in Residential Fire Safety" is available on TriData's website.