NFPA Journal - January/February 2020 - 54

Outreach by Lorraine Carli

ADVOCACY,
LEGISLATION,
AND PUBLIC
EDUCATION

Why It Matters
SOMETIMES IT'S GOOD FOR FIRE SAFETY EDUCATORS TO BE
REMINDED THAT THEIR EFFORTS MAKE A DIFFERENCE

art of working in the field

young cousins-safely out of the home.
of fire safety includes keep"I yelled to my auntie there was fire,"
ing up with fire-related
Jayden later told WGN news. The boy
news and trends. For most
knew about fire safety from school fire
of us, including me, that
drills and had played video games about
often means inboxes and social media
escape planning. One relative told a
feeds flooded with discouraging and
reporter that Jayden even knew enough
sometimes heartbreaking news: home
to tell his sister to crouch low to avoid
fires that kill children, new attempts to
smoke during the evacuation.
legally ban home fire sprinklers, deadly
In NFPA's home state of Massachusetts,
wildfires sparked by careless human
the state Department of Fire Services
activity. Sometimes it's enough to make
solicits similar stories through its
even the most dedicated among us wonder
"Young Heroes Awards" program. Nearly
if the effort to educate the public about
400 children have been recognized as
In a world where bad
fire safety makes any difference.
young heroes since the program's incepnews tends to carry
It does. Amid the steady onslaught
tion in 1995. One of last year's recipients
the day, stories of
of catastrophes, it can be easy to miss
was a teenager who helped her brother
safety successes are
the many examples of how our efforts
safely escape their home when a smoke
powerful reminders
directly save lives. I'd like to share a few
alarm alerted them to a kitchen fire. The
that our efforts to
recent successes with you.
incident, coincidentally, occurred during
educate the public
Just after Fire Prevention Week this
Fire Prevention Week.
remain critical.
past October, I was heartened to read
These are just a few stories among
an article in the Daily Record in Dunn,
many. Countless others will likely never
North Carolina, which chronicled how
surface-we have no way of knowing
a five-year-old girl named Taylor saved
about all of the fires that didn't happen
the home-and possibly the lives-of
because someone took our safety
her family. When Taylor saw smoke coming from the laundry messaging to heart. But just because we can't measure these
room, she immediately alerted her grandparents, allowing non-fires doesn't mean they shouldn't be acknowledged.
the family and their pets to escape before fire spread to other
In a world where bad news tends to carry the day, these
parts of the house.
stories are powerful reminders that our efforts to educate
"We are attributing [Taylor's actions] to the public educa- the public remain critical for reducing loss from fire and
tion the young lady received in preschool," Banks Wallace, other hazards. Never lose sight of your impact and keep the
Harnett County's deputy chief fire marshal, told the newspa- successes in your thoughts, because each one is a life saved
per. Wallace added that the incident is a perfect example of and a family that still has a home. The number of fire deaths
NFPA's 2019 Fire Prevention Week theme, "Not Every Hero and injuries in the United States has been reduced signifiWears a Cape-Plan and Practice your Escape," and stressed cantly over the decades, in large part because of work being
the importance of the fire service spreading this message. "In done by fire safety educators with little fanfare in communithis case, the hero was Taylor," he said. The family even had an ties across the country.
escape plan, and used it when one exit was blocked by smoke.
There is still much work to do, but in the meantime, don't
A few months before, a five-year-old boy in Chicago named forget how important you are.
Jayden awoke one night to a fire in the kitchen. He alerted
his family and led them all-including two sisters and three LORRAINE CARLI is vice president of outreach and advocacy for NFPA.

54 | NFPA JOURNAL * J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0

MICHAEL HOEWELER

NFPA Journal - January/February 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - January/February 2020