Klussman |1

Ethan Klussman

ENG 1201

Professor Hellmers

23 October 2021

How do safety programs, specifically fire prevention education, influence the decisions young
children make that affect their safety?

There are thousands of fire and police departments, across the country, putting on safety

programs for children. Specifically, fire departments need to evaluate how fire prevention

education is impacting children. The goal of these fire prevention programs is to reduce, or

eliminate, childhood injuries. Are these programs targeting the right audience? Are they utilizing

the proper tools to get the message out? How effective is the current method of instruction? Is

the investment too much or not enough to achieve the goal?

In researching the most common cause of death in children, Cunningham, Walton, and

Carter, state that injuries are the cause of 60% of childhood deaths. In a list of the top 10 injuries,

fires or burns came in as the 9th highest reason for these fatal injuries. The leading cause of fatal

injuries in children is motor vehicle crashes. In fact, most of the top 10 reasons on the list are

preventable and areas that more safety and prevention education could help reduce or prevent. So

why are these injuries, specifically burns, continually high on the list? Fire prevention programs

are not new and there are so many different styles. Reviewing these programs and implementing

the proper program will be key to affecting change in the community and reducing the risks.

Are we targeting the right audience? In reviewing “Evaluation of a Fire Safety Training

Program for Preschool Children”, they studied a program, Kid Safe, developed by the Oklahoma

City Fire Department to validate its effectiveness in improving fire safety knowledge in
 Klussman |2

preschoolers. They go on to state that children under 5 are 2.5 times more likely die in a fire than

any other childhood group[ CITATION McC96 \l 1033 ]. Sirianni states, “Education is one of the

greatest tools available to help the United States succeed in fire safety and knowledge, and that

includes educating ourselves in how other countries tackle this problem.” Sirianni goes on to talk

about not only educating through the primary grades but even through college age students as

well. The risks and outcomes are still present through early adulthood and need to be mitigated.

Children learn in a variety of ways based on their age and learning capabilities. This

means the fire service needs to be creative and learn to utilize a variety of tools and platforms to

accomplish the mission of fire prevention education. Kiurski outlines how fire station tours,

school visits, homeowner’s association, church groups, block parties, and open houses all play a

part of the education process. Utilizing all these resources allows the fire department to use

different mediums to engage with the audiences. It also provides opportunities to engage with

kids in different environments that may lend to a more constructive learning experience. One key

factor to all these methods is finding the right personnel that are excited, motivated, and

engaging for the learners. If the wrong educator is selected, it could negatively impact the

experience.

One of the biggest challenges, for departments nationwide, is the budget impact of these

prevention programs. Administrators are always looking to justify expenditures and these types

of programs are no exception. From personnel, literature, tools, and media costs, prevention

activities can have a significant impact on the fire department’s budget. How do we know if the

message is having an impact? How do we afford to provide a quality program that will reach the

intended audience? Well, in New York City, the fire department was able to get private

donations to fund a $3 million museum and theatre to educate school aged children and other
 Klussman |3

visitors [ CITATION Hof041 \l 1033 ]. This one of a kind experience puts the learner in a real-

world environment of the devastation a fire can cause. The instructor, a retired firefighter, brings

to life the message as the audience watches film, interacts with the props, and hears the message

from an expert. But all of this has a significant cost. For New York, it was paid for by

contributions from businesses. How do other fire departments meet the need to educate the

children and perform this task within the confines of their budget? This is a challenge for all

administrators, to prove the cost-benefit reasoning to the elected officials and the public.
 Klussman |4

Works Cited
Cunningham, Rebecca M., Maureen A. Walton and Patrick M. Carter. The Major Causes of
Death in Children and Adolescents in the United States. 20 December 2018. Web. 20
October 2021. <https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmsr1804754>.
Hoffman, Claire. "A Place for Ex-Firefighters to Teach Fire Safety to Children." The New York
Times 10 March 2004. Web.
KIURSKI, TOM. "Stay Current on Fire Safety Education." 1 Jan 2010. Fire Engineering. Web.
20 October 2021.
McConnell, Charles, Frank Leemin and William Dwyer. "Evaluation of a Fire-Safety Training
Program For Preschool Children." Journal of Community Psychology 24.3 (1996): 213-
217. Print.
SIRIANNI, JOSEPH. "Fire Education K-12:Lowering Fire Deaths." December 2015. Fire
Engineering. Web. 20 October 2021.