Community Fire Safety Advocate Program

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Community Fire Safety AdvocatesA model for educating multicultural communities

For over 50 years, the Seattle Fire Department has provided public fire safety and prevention education. Our emphasis is on community risk-reduction activities, with particular attention to those who are at greatest risk of experiencing a fire.

We had made outreach efforts to our immigrant and refugee populations.

But a tragic event in our community would escalate that effort. It would inspire us to develop an effective method for measurably changing fire safety knowledge and practices within Seattle’s immigrant/refugee communities.

On June 10, 2010 five family members died in a Seattle house fire.

Four were children.

The individuals belonged to Seattle’s East African community.

Courtesy The Seattle Times

Both the community and the Seattle Fire Department recognized the need for additional fire safety outreach. We vowed to work together to make that a reality.


Immediate Safety Outreach Strategy For the first month following the fire, efforts were primarily focused on:

1. Communicating factual information about the incident.

2. Holding community meetings to provide information and answer questions about the fire department response to the incident.

3. Providing information through a wide variety of media sources to all parents in Seattle on home fire escape planning.

4. Making personal contact with East African community leaders to begin addressing their concerns and needs.


One of the keys to founding a strong working relationship with the East African community was the involvement of senior leadership on both sides.

For the Seattle Fire Department, the lead was taken by Fire Chief Gregory Dean. His personal commitment and presence during this initial phase was critical.


The initial post-incident outreach was followed by the more in-depth process of developing a targeted fire prevention effort to address the specific needs of the entire East African community.

Makeup of Seattle’s East African Community• Four most common language

groups are Amharic, Oromo, Somali and Tigrinya

• Two main religious affiliations are Muslim and Christian

• Three main countries of origin are Ethiopia, Somalia and Eritrea

• Most arrived as refugees within the last 20 years

• In 2010, the estimated population was 6,000 individuals

Our ChallengeTo deliver culturally relevant fire safety education targeted to the risks of the identified community.

To be successful, we needed1. Culturally competent educators & delivery methods.2. An understanding of the target groups’ fire risks.3. Partnership with agencies and groups already engaged with

the target communities.4. Access to the target communities.5. Motivation by the target communities to learn fire safe

behaviors.

CULTURAL COMPETENCE refers to an ability to successfully negotiate cross-cultural differences in order to accomplish practical goals.

After six weeks of research, focus group contact, material development and relationship building, our program concept was ready for piloting.

Community Fire Safety Advocates are community members, carefully chosen and trained in both fire safety and fire department services, who conduct outreach activities in the native language of the target community using culturally relevant approaches and materials.

Seattle Fire Department’sMulticultural Outreach Model

Community Fire Safety Advocates

Modeled after Community Lay Workers• A global model for providing public health

service to underserved communities.• Utilizes community members to serve as

connectors between health care agencies and the cultural community.

Characteristics of Advocates:1. They come from the

community in which they work,

2. They have standing and trust from members of that community,

3. They speak the same language,

4. They identify and have a sense of service with the community

Our GoalsWe had five goal areas for the initial Community Fire Safety Advocate program.

Goal #1Increase home fire safety and fire prevention practices among members of the East African community.

Goal #2Demonstrate to the East African community the services offered by the Seattle Fire Department.

Goal #3Improve outreach by Fire Department members to East African communities.

Goal #4Increase the Fire Department’s understanding of the needsand concerns of the EastAfrican community.

Goal #5Build relationships between the Seattle Fire Department and East African community leaders.

Guided by respected community groups, the Fire Department chose individuals who were highly regarded and known to be community oriented as the first Community Fire Safety Advocates (CFSAs).

Initial training includes:• 15 hours of classroom and on-site training.• Passing a skills-based test demonstrating fire safety practices.• Gaining familiarity with services offered by the Department by

visiting facilities and spending time with uniformed members.• Developing a sense of belonging by meeting Fire Department

Operations members and the Fire Chief on a regular basis.• Partnering with an experienced fire educator until confident

delivering fire safety messaging.

Graduation CeremonyAdvocates are provided with certificates and Department name badges upon completion of their training.

CompensationAdvocates are compensated for their efforts by a stipend, both during their training and when delivering outreach services.

Fire SafetyEducation Materials• The materials developed

were visual (photos, props, video) and targeted to cultural practices and specific fire risks of the community.

• The materials were developed together with the advocates and focus groups in the community. They validated that they were relevant, not us.

Cultural customs, such as style of furnishings, were taken into account as they can impact both fire risks and safety messages.

Materials were translated where appropriate to provide information, but not depended on to teach the message.

Outreach activities are conducted through a variety of avenues.

Outreach Event: Community Fair

Outreach Event: Summer Festival

Outreach Event: Community Presentation

Outreach Event: Health Fair

Outreach Event: Apartment Meeting

Outreach Event: Elders Group

Outreach Event: Smoke & CO Alarms

Outreach Event: Fire Station Open House

Recognition for Advocates

The first Community Fire Safety Advocates were awarded the Seattle Fire Department’s Community Service Award at the Department’s Annual Awards Night Event. Several months of active fire safety outreach to the East African community ended a difficult year on a much more positive note.

Pilot Project Results (2010-2011)• Ten East African community members received capacity-

building skills and knowledge in fire safety and prevention.

• Community Fire Safety Advocates conducted 408 hours of outreach activity between September 2010 and December 2011.

• Over 4,000 East African community members were reached with culturally relevant fire safety information by December 2011.

• Positive relationships were established between Seattle Fire Department members and East African community leaders and agencies.

Fire Prevention Report: Community Fire Safety Advocate Pilot Project may be viewed here.

http://www.seattle.gov/fire/pubEd/Publications/PreventionPrograms/CFSAPilotReport.pdf

Interviews withCommunity Fire Safety Advocates

Anecdotal ResultsA Somali woman credits a Community Fire Safety Advocate for teaching her how to respond to a home cooking fire. She feels her home and family were saved because she knew how to put out the fire safely.

http://www.seattle.gov/fire/pubEd/CFSA/video/default.htm

Program Expansion (2012)

New Community Fire Safety Advocates have added additional languages.

Newest CFSAs speak Vietnamese, Cambodian, Lao, Thai, Chinese.

Currently ten communitiesare receiving fire and life safety

information in their native language.

Our Major Challenges1. Fitting an unconventional

program into a conventional fire service.

2. Understanding and meeting the needs of the diverse customs, languages and traditions among and within Seattle’s immigrant/refugee groups.

3. Evaluating program effectiveness beyond the number of people reached to see if behavior change occurs.

Program EvaluationEvaluation is conducted at several points in the Community Fire Safety Advocate program.

1. Each CFSA must pass a skills-based competency test before receiving their certification.

2. Each CFSA provides subjective feedback at the conclusion of their training, and at least quarterly after that.

3. In-depth evaluation has been conducted on two of the activities performed by CFSAs at outreach events.

Advocate Evaluation1. Each CFSA must pass a skills-

based competency test before receiving their certification. This test ensures they know and can demonstrate the targeted fire safety behaviors correctly and reliably.

2. Each CFSA fills out a subjective survey at the conclusion of their training session. This is followed up by quarterly meetings of all the CFSAs to provide feedback, share updates and make suggestions for improvements.

Program Activities EvaluationIn-depth evaluation has been conducted on two of the activities performed by Community Fire Safety Advocates at outreach events.

Fire on Stove Home Escape Sequencing

Fire on StoveGoal of the Activity: Participants will have knowledge of the correct (safe) action to take if a pan catches on fire on the stove.Objective: Participants will be able to demonstrate the proper action to take if a cooking pan catches on fire.

Correct ResponsePan on Fire Activity

No coaching


No coaching


With coaching


With coaching

97% correct

74% incorrect

26% correct

Home Escape SequencingGoal of the Activity: Participants will have knowledge of the correct (safe) action to take if a fire should occur in their home.Objective: Participants will be able to place a number of related story board pictures in an order that indicates the correct (safe) action to take in response to the fire in the pictures.

Correct ResponseHome Escape Sequencing

No coaching


No coaching


With coaching


With coaching

98% correct60%

incorrect

40% correct

— we feel that initial evidence has

been collected that affirms the worth

of this innovative fire safety program

for multicultural communities.

Given the variety of

evaluation measures

taken—advocate skills

tests, quarterly informal

evaluations, targeted

assessment of teaching

activities and anecdotal

results—

Seattle Fire Department’s Keys to Successful Multicultural Fire Safety Education:1. Aim to address the target groups’ actual fire risks.

2. Teach behaviors that are do-able and targeted to the risks.

3. Develop program parameters and materials in collaboration with local native language speakers.

4. Provide education that is culturally relevant in its methods, delivery and materials.

5. Appeal to the target communities’ motivation to learn safe behaviors.

6. Deliver educational services in the primary language of the learner.

SEATTLE FIRE DEPARTMENTFire Prevention DivisionPublic Education Section

Seattle.gov/[email protected]

Community Fire Safety Advocate Program

Education

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