In our last post, we discussed the village approach to community safety - how everyone in the community has a role to play in preventing fires and responding to emergencies - firefighters, business owners, first responders, and even the general public. Today we are going to share with you a special opportunity that's available through the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association), where community members are encouraged to get involved through a Community Risk Reduction (CRR) pilot program.
This is a new program sponsored by the NFPA where members of a community identify the most severe risks in their communities and take measure to address and lower those risks. The NFPA is partnerning with the mySidewalk platform in developing digital tools that community leaders and members can use to identify and address the risks in their locality. To push forward this initiative, grants are being offered to 50 fire departments who are willing to be a part of testing and implementing this new tool.
Fire departments that are willing to be a part of this project need to fulfill 3 requirements:
1. Share fire department data with the NFDS (National Fire Data System)
2. Commit to using the digital tool for 1 year in order to give guidance to the CRR programming designed to help at the community level
3. Be willing to participate in sharing feedback with the CRR team
25 applicants will be chosen this June 2019, and another round of applicants will be selected later on in the year.
So what role can community members play in CRR?
In the words of the NFPA:
"Everyone has a role in CRR! First responders, residents, business owners, visitors, students – everyone has a role in driving a community culture of safety and prevention.
"Stakeholders are individuals, groups, or organizations who might be affected or be affected by the CRA or the CRR plan. For example, firefighters, city planners, and members of the local civic organization are stakeholders.
"Partners are people or groups who agree to share physical, financial, or intellectual resources to achieve common goals. Big box retailers who donate materials to help Firewise communities are partners. Local faith-based groups may serve as partners if they provide space and promotion for educational safety presentations.
"A CRR committee is the group of people responsible for developing the CRR plan."
As you can see, it takes all of us working together to keep our neighborhoods and communities safe. In initiatives like this, truly it is a genuine partnership for everyone who has a vested interest - fire departments, first responders, flameproofing companies, business owners, faith-based organizations, city planners - and the general inhabitants of a community.
At Certified Flameproofing, we support initiatives like this! Our flameproofing services and treatments that help reduce the impacts of fire are only as effective as the people and businesses that are frequenting these locations. We welcome partnerships with all community members in keeping our neighborhoods in the Metro NYC area safe, and we are proud to play a role.
If you have need of flameproofing services or questions related to fire prevention and safety, please call us. We are happy to serve anyone in the community, and we offer businesses free, no-obligation estimates: 1-800-590-5530