By Jamie Thompson
FireRescue1 Editor
 Photo Jamie Thompson (From left) Richard Taylor, Ozzie Mirkhah and Jim Crawford discuss Vision 20/20 at FRI. |
DENVER — The Federal government needs to take a more active role in supporting fire prevention efforts in the United States, a session at FRI on Friday was told.
“We need to have more involvement at the federal level,” said Ozzie Mirkhah, a fire protection engineer at the Las Vegas Fire Department. “We need to have funding to implement some of the changes that we need desperately right now.”
Mirkhah was among the panel members discussing the latest developments of Vision 20/20, a DHS-funded project to develop a comprehensive national strategy for fire prevention.
Funding is now being actively solicited for the continuation of the program as a national planning platform to allow relevant partners to share ideas and best practices with each other.
The session was told the Vision 20/20 plan should be released later this month but the project has already identified five key strategies to improve fire prevention:
- Increase advocacy for fire prevention
Portraying the nature and scope of the fire problem in the United States, and taking the message to decision makers. - Conduct a national fire safety education/social marketing campaign
Having prevention campaigns within one “banner,” which will capture the attention of the general public and enhance fire prevention campaigns. - Raise the importance of fire prevention within the fire service
Embedding its importance within the service, and increasing the emphasis placed on it. - Promote technology to enhance fire and life safety
Establishing measurement criteria to evaluate new technologies that benefit prevention efforts, advocating new technology development, and more strongly supporting existing technologies such as residential sprinklers and smoke alarms. - Refine and improve the application of codes and standards that enhance public and firefighter safety and preserve community assets
Developing a collaborative environment where the fire service can maximize its impact in the codes and standards development arena.
Richard Taylor, research and planning analyst at the state fire marshal’s office in Maine, told the session it is clear the United States needs to do more in the area of fire prevention.
“Some countries are taking a new direction and drastically reducing their fire losses,” he said. “It’s preventable and that’s what Vision 20/20 is essentially programmed to pursue. We can do better.”
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