Southern California Fire Prevention Officers
PUBLIC EDUCATION COMMITTEE
Meeting Minutes – 2/14/06
Rancho Cucamonga Fire Dept.
PRESENT:
Johanna Wilkie- Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation
Deanne Johanson -Big Bear City Fire Dept.
Pat Mieszala -Burn Concerns / NFPA Risk Watch Field Advisor
Mike Hatfield- Cathedral City Fire Dept.
Linda Human- Cathedral City Fire Dept.
Ryan Dacko -Chino Valley Fire Dept.
Michelle Douglas -Colton Fire Dept.
Brenda Emrick -Costa Mesa Fire Dept.
Nancy Karl- F-11 Productions
Craig Nuss- La Habra Heights Fire Dept.
Susan Jensen -Los Angeles Fire Dept.
Kelley Donaldson- Rancho Cucamonga Fire Dept.
Gale Schulte- Riverside Fire Dept.
Penni Overstreet-Murphy -San Bernardino County Fire Dept.
Randy Pusey - Vista Fire Dept.
WELCOME:
Penni Overstreet-Murphy welcomed newcomers to the group and briefly talked about a few changes to the meeting schedule and location.
PROGRAM:
Our guest speaker was Eva Rose who is the Chairperson for the Department of Communication Studies & Director of the Honors Program at Chaffey College. Eva gave an excellent presentation on Obstacles to Intercultural Communications and the Profile of an Effective Communicator as well as led the group in an exercise on Assumptions About Others.
BUSINESS MEETING:
Tuesday, April 4, 2006
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
All meetings will be held from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. at Rancho Cucamonga Fire Station 173. Suggested training topics include: senior pub ed programs; programs for minority populations; disseminating messages and pub ed campaigns; cultural awareness; fireworks issues; evaluating and tailoring programs; and free programs and resources.
- So Cal Pub Ed Committee Newsletter (submitted to So Cal FPO and included on website). This would be a quarterly or bi-annual publication that would be compiled by articles from our committee members. Penni presented a draft of the inaugural newsletter and it looked great!
- 2-Day Public Education Conference. The group was eager to plan a conference and provide training to public educators. The conference is planned for June 2007 and will be similar the the 2-day workshop held in Lake Arrowhead in 1998. The committee is considering holding the event in Costa Mesa at a location yet to be determined. (Brenda will check on hotel locations.)
- Utilize the So Cal FPO website more. It’s a wonderful resource to us!
Penni asked the committee members to e-mail suggestions to her for inclusion of the Goals & Objectives Report. Pat Mieszala also suggested creating an on-line survey to get a better understanding of what public educators are looking for in teaching materials/props, training needs, meeting topics, etc.
Standing Committee Updates:
Risk Watch
Pat Mieszala brought us up to speed on the status of Risk Watch at the state level. The 2001 & 2002 grants for the California Risk Watch programs (State Champion Teams) went to Boston for training. The goal was to train the state teams who would then train the local teams, who then train the teachers to deliver the curriculum. California was divided into regional teams (North & South). The Nor Cal team disbanded and the So Cal rep left her agency and now her position is closed leaving both regions without representation at the state level. The two groups are moving toward approaching the State agencies for a California State Team.
National Risk Watch Week will be April 9-15, 2006. The State Team will apply for the prestigious recognition of a Safe Community. Local teams can also apply under the state team and it is not necessary for the local team to have a school-related Risk Watch program. The local teams qualify with a Risk Watch program even if its directed toward scouts, after school programs, etc. The only requirement is that an event or activity must be planned to apply for the Safe Communities recognition (such as a booth at a health fair).
In April/May 2006 NFPA will introduce the "Risk Watch Light" version of the original Risk Watch program which is a condensed program.
Safe Kids
National Child Passenger Safety Week is February 12-18, 2006. The Inland Empire Coalition (which covers Riverside and San Bernardino Counties), will be hosting a press conference and story time event on February 16th in honor of CPS Week. May 7-13, 2006 is Safe Kids Week and the theme for this year’s event is entrapments and water safety.
California Juvenile Fire Setter Coalition
The next meeting will be February 24, 2006 at 8:00 a.m. at the Orange County Fire Authority headquarters building. To date there have been 300 people trained in the JFSI I course and another 198 people trained in JFSI II. The Coalition is creating a mental health data base. OCFA received a grant to create a data base for tracking purposes, which will be a resource for local mental health professionals. They are considering hosting a conference in 2007 and the Coalition is currently seeking funding for additional training. There are positions available on the board of directors (Secretary and Treasurer) – contact Gale Schulte at Riverside Fire if you are interested (951-826-5384). Visit their website for more information www.californiafiresetter.org
CERT and Emergency Preparedness
The National CERT Conference will be held May 16-18, 2006 in Los Angeles and will include Train-the-Trainer and T4 (Supervisor) classes. Visit their website www.cert-la.com for more information about the conference and for registration. To date, there are 157 registered programs in California. Orange County is creating the concept of a mutual aid CERT training program. There is also a new program launched by FEMA called Ready Kids that focuses on emergency preparedness for school age kids.
CDF is supporting the new Fire Corps concept, which is a division of the Citizen’s Corps. Fire Corps consists of several different types of volunteer programs, which are all fire related. The volunteer opportunities are not in suppression but rather in prevention and education. The e-mail contact for CDF is SLee@firecorp.org
Drowning Prevention (DPN)
Penni gave an update on the Submersion Incident Reporting Form that is currently being used in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. The intent of the form is to capture information about submersion (both fatal and non-fatal) incidents in the two counties in order to better direct education efforts. The SIRF report is to be completed by all emergency responders (fire, police and ambulance personnel) and then submitted to the San Bernardino County Health Dept (for incidents in SB Co.) and to the Riverside Injury Prevention Network (Riverside Co.).
Alisa Ann Ruch Foundation
The organization works with survivors as well as fire departments for prevention education. Their main programs include: Firefighter’s Safety & Education; Protect Your Child campaign (prevention of scalding burns); and Juvenile Fire Setter Intervention trainings. The foundation is waiting to hear if they have been awarded a grant which will extend programs. The Burn Relay (in LA County) will be held on April 8th.
Fireworks
The group is requesting a speaker on current fireworks issues for the next meeting. A new concern raised by some of the members was related to the confiscation of fireworks. Once they are confiscated, where can they be taken?
Burn Institute
The Inland Empire Chapter (a spin-off from the San Diego Burn Institute) is still raising funds to establish a chapter at the Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton. The "Spirit of Courage Awards" will be held at Pechanga again this year – more information to be announced.
Home Safety Council
Brenda briefed the group on the Home Safety Council and the opportunities for free or inexpensive education programs. Code Red Rover is one of those programs, which includes a video and curriculum. They also provide materials in English and Spanish. Additionally, there is a program geared to adults with low level reading skills. The "Are You Ready?" curriculum will be coming out in March, focusing on "Ready to Go?" and "Ready to Stay" information. It will be provided at various reading levels.
Fire Prevention Officer’s Workshop
The Fire Prevention Institute's Annual Conference will be held March 13-17, 2006 in Buellton, CA. The conference will offer a Management track, a Technical track, 2 Code tracks and 2 Training tracks. Information Officer S203 will also be offered as a week-long certification class. The registration fee is $300/week or $80/day. There will be a joint meeting (Nor Cal Pub Ed Committee and So Cal Pub Ed Committee) on 3/17/06 from 8-11 am.
Spark of Love
The 2005 Toy Drive wrap up meeting recently took place. For the 2006 Toy Drive they are considering scheduling multiple kick-off dates in multiple locations rather than one big event to kick-off the entire toy drive. Sav-On was an issue this year and may or may not be a sponsor next year since CVS bought out their company. The next meeting is scheduled for June 7, 2006 at 10:00 at ABC 7.
Upcoming Events and Resources
Roundtable:
Nancy Karl at F-11 Productions brought lots of goodies for the group including classroom curriculums, videos and more. These were materials that she is no longer using and kindly offered to the rest of the group.
Pat Mieszala with Burn Concerns (and also a Risk Watch Field Advisor) told us about a tutorial DVD that is being created for EMS personnel and firefighters with in depth information on burn injuries. They are currently pilot testing the DVD which was created from a video documentary about firefighters who treated multiple burn victims from one incident.
Michelle Douglas with Colton Fire said that she is currently involved with organizing CERT training in her city. They are targeting apartment complexes to start with and will use Reserve Inspectors (an up and coming program) for assistance with instruction. The Reserve Inspectors will also be used for low hazard occupancy inspections. She is also trying to get Risk Watch into the local community centers.
Lt. Craig Nuss with La Habra Heights Fire shared with us that their weed abatement program has started up again. A new fire station is currently in the architectural stages and the hydrant maintenance program is getting assistance from Eagle Scout candidates.
Ryan Dacko with Chino Valley Fire has taken over Tony Landin’s position since he left. Nancy Kidd is still doing Risk Watch and Ryan is handling all other public education programs and PIO tasks. They are currently reorganizing their prevention bureau and he is now reporting to the Fire Marshal.
Brenda Emrick with Costa Mesa Fire stated that she is actively doing CERT training and most recently trained at a mobile home park. Costa Mesa Fire is branding their marketing approach and using the Art Institute of California for creating public education outreach materials. The Pub Ed division will have its own website (above and beyond the City’s/Fire’s websites). They applied for a fire prevention public education grant to create an interactive DVD. They are kicking off the Citizen’s Fire Academy, which is a 9-week program designed to introduce various aspects of the department (ex. Building and safety; EMS, "tools of the trade," etc.) to the residents. At the end of the program, each "graduate" gets a t-shirt, certificate and DVD slide show of photos taken over the nine weeks.
Gale Schulte with Riverside Fire recently received a FEMA grant to purchase Sparky’s Hazard House, a puppet stage, sound system and smoke alarms for the hearing impaired. Gale asked if anyone has seen research on voice recorded smoke alarms and their effectiveness for children.
Susan Jensen with Los Angeles City Fire said she is heavily involved with the CERT conference in May. She also noted that Teen CERT will be attending that conference. CSFA publications will now include a comic strip with the help of a former Disney animator. The comic strip will illustrate dogs in various fire safety situations sharing prevention messages.
Randy Pusey with Vista Fire is new to prevention and was happy to join the group.
Chief Mike Hatfield with Cathedral City Fire shared information about their CERT program which has been going strong as a combined effort with Palm Springs and County Fire for the past eight years. CERT is taught 3 times a year. They have also received a Homeland Security Grant to fund a storage trailer for CERT. Code Enforcement staff is assisting with fire inspections. The Reserve Inspector program is used for smoke detector inspections. Cathedral City has a city ordinance which mandates that before a home can close sale in a real estate transaction, there must be a smoke alarm/water heater/burglar bar inspection conducted by the fire department for a $35 fee. The fee pays for a part-time inspector for 3 days a week.
Deanne Johanson with Big Bear City Fire said she enjoyed attending the meeting and getting new ideas for public education.
Kelley Donaldson with Rancho Cucamonga Fire gave an update on her Risk Watch program, which is expanding in numbers. She is also focusing on a senior injury and illness prevention program with a quarterly newsletter and intends to further develop that campaign.
Penni Overstreet-Murphy with San Bernardino County Fire shared with us information about the Community Action Program (CAP) which is a joint committee between city and churches with representatives from police, fire, foster care, abuse networks., etc.
NEXT MEETING:
The next meeting is schedule for April 4th. All 2006 Public Education Committee meetings will be held at Rancho Cucamonga Fire Station 173 located at 12270 Firehouse Ct. unless otherwise advised.
From the 15 Freeway South, exit Baseline and turn right. Turn right on Daycreek and then left on Firehouse Ct.
From the 15 Freeway North, exit Foothill Blvd and turn left. Turn right on Daycreek and then left on Firehouse Ct.