EMMITSBURG, Md. - The Deputy United States Fire Administrator Charlie Dickinson announces a USFA website addition entitled, the Chief’s Corner. The new feature at www.usfa.fema.gov will showcase items of interest shared by the nation’s fire prevention and fire safety individuals from throughout the United States. This new feature will be used to draw attention to the new innovations and efforts that both the U.S. Fire Administrator and Deputy Administrator are made aware of in their travels and discussions with so many individuals and department leaders throughout the nation.
The first entry identified by Deputy Administrator Charlie Dickinson will draw your attention to a new program created by the National Association of Hispanic Firefighters (NAHF) in collaboration with the United States Fire Administration (USFA) and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). This program, funded by a previous year grant addresses the frequency of Hispanic children are hurt or killed by fire. The NAHF created “Mis Primeros Pasos” as a result of learning that children migrating from Hispanic countries had limited exposure to the initiatives of local fire prevention efforts. “Mis Primeros Pasos” is based on the Learn Not to Burn Program. “Mis Primeros Pasos” is very interactive and is designed to stimulate all five senses. The program and book is set in a lesson plan format and allows the teacher to implement the program in their classroom on their time.
Since its inception, this innovative instruction has been taught to over 900 teachers in over 30 states, resulting in 27,000 children learning fire safety. The success of the program is attributed to the continued dedication of NAHF members working with the USFA to reduce fire fatalities. Its impact is also felt from the continued positive response we get from teachers and principals that thank us for introducing it in their school system. The NAHF has secured additional funds through the Fire Prevention and Safety Grant to continue to expand the program. In cities where this is active, not a single child fire fatality has been reported. The website for more information is: www.nahf.org.
Coming soon in the Chief’s Corner will be a number of the success stories and experiences being shared with Chief Dickinson from firefighters returning from the recent CR firefighter deployments to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. To submit ideas or items for the Chiefs to consider, contact the USFA External Affairs at Thomas.Olshanski@dhs.gov.