Community Risk Reduction
Fall Back, Fire Forward: A Life-Saving Reminder for Families and Grandparents
Since 1966, most states have changed the clocks twice a year to save an hour of daylight. Love it or hate it, daylight saving time ends…
We can all help prevent death and injury to children from firearms
The holiday season is upon us in the U.S. and Canada and that means children will be spending more time at home as many schools take breaks for the Thanksgiving (U.S.) and Christmas holidays. Thus, I’ve updated my original article and am sharing it today in hopes of preventing an unintentional shooting, especially one involving a child or teen.
Chat with Lt. Chris Collins about getting out there and meeting your community
Today I met a friend in fire service colleague for another “lunch and chat session” at Sokolata. one of our nice eateries in South Charleston, West Virginia. Whenever I finish one of these sit downs with Chris Collins, a lieutenant with the St. Albans (W.Va) Fire Department whose current job is that of Fire Marshal, I come away refreshed and excited about the fire service again. See, Chris is pretty much a “one man band” as the Fire Marshall doing fire safety inspections, code enforcement, fire investigations, and public fire and life safety education presentations. And he does all that with a level of commitment, passion, and enthusiasm that I wish I could bottle and sell!
What you need to know about fire safety for active construction sites
It’s somewhat “newsworthy” when a week goes by that we don’t see or hear about a significant fire in a building under construction, renovation, or demolition. That’s because such fire incidents take place more often than most of us realize. In recent months, there have been fires in commercial buildings being renovated in Idaho, in a former Sony building in New Jersey being demolished and in multiple apartment buildings under construction across the U.S., including high profile incidents in Las Vegas and Texas.
22+ STATISTICS AND FACTS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WILDFIRES
Note from Chief Avsec: I received this article from a professional acquaintance, Rachel Cook, via e-mail. I found the article to be informative and educational, particularly as we've been witnessing the utter devastation being caused by wildfires in the western U.S., particularly in California.
National Fire Prevention Week 2020: 8+ weeks and counting
National Fire Prevention Week for 2020 begins October 4th and continues through October 10th. And it’s going to be much…
Online fire safety education: Don’t “reinvent the wheel”
As the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to deepen across the U.S., one thing I’m hearing and reading much…
Fire Safety Messages: What Are You Selling?
My fire service colleague Tanya Bettridge is the Captain for Public Education at Mississauga (ON) Fire and Emergency Services. But…
Is your community “inoculated” against preventable fires?
Well, is it? Are you and your family inoculated against preventable fires? You may think that it’s enough that you…
To Install, Or Not To Install
By: Tanya Bettridge, Guest Blogger, Public Educator The number of smoke/CO alarms, that are either given away or outright installed by fire departments in communities across…
What fire statistics don’t tell you, but a fire person will
Interesting data from the USFA (United States Fire Administration). The number of fires [in the U.S.] is down over 6 percent in 10 years, but fire related deaths [in the U.S.] are up over 10 percent in that same time. Any thoughts on why this is?
Climate change ain’t no hoax, just ask a California firefighter
As taxpaying citizens of the U.S., we all have “skin in the game” when it comes to how wildfires and all natural disasters in the U.S. are prepared for and handled when they happen. And if we don’t take climate change seriously and pressure our elected officials to take it seriously, we’ll only see more acres burn. We’ll only see bigger and stronger storms—from hurricanes to tornadoes to winter storms—affecting all parts of the U.S. And don’t even get me started on coastal areas that will become non-existent for future generations.