virtual event addressing challenges & opportunities facing fire/life safety educators
October 22, 2020 – The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is hosting a FREE Spotlight on Public Education (SOPE) virtual event that addresses challenges and opportunities facing public educators, injury prevention professionals, and others responsible for risk reduction in their communities. To be held on Wednesday, October 27, 11:00 – 5:30 p.m. EST, SOPE will feature educational sessions covering timely topics, along with networking lounge rooms and a resource center.
“Dealing with diverse groups of people in multiple settings with varying circumstances presents significant challenges for fire and life safety educators,” said Andrea Vastis, senior director of NFPA’s public education division. “SOPE brings together these groups to share knowledge and ideas, and to help strengthen their ability to protect their communities.”
Following are the four featured educational sessions to be held during SOPE:
- Falls Prevention: Helping Older Adults Age in Place – Fire departments and EMS now see more fall than fire victims, often being called to the same homes repeatedly for minor falls. This workshop will address how fire service and public health professionals can work together to identify and connect older adults with resources to support fall prevention.
- Hoarding: Enforcement to Engagement - Fire service personnel face serious risks when responding to fires and other emergencies in homes of residents who compulsively hoard. This presentation will address the characteristics of hoarding behavior; examine the risks that loom during emergency response; and provide guidance for developing a local task force that can address the social, psychological and environmental considerations for treating a person who hoards.
- Community Risk Assessment: The First Chapter in Your CRR Story- Community Risk Reduction (CRR) is used to help communities identify risks and develop plans to mitigate them, resulting in increased safety for residents and first responders alike. This session will reinforce Community Risk Assessments (CRA) as the important starting point for professionals working to implement successful CRR initiatives. The session will also highlight how local data can help users shape their communities’ stories and how these stories provide the foundation for CRR efforts.
- Taking Your Education Programs Virtually Anywhere! - Integrating technology into fire safety programs can be an effective, efficient way to connect with specific audiences. This session offers ideas, tips, and tricks for virtually expanding your educational programs, highlighting digital tools that will bring your educational programs to an enhanced level.
In addition to these educational sessions, networking lounge rooms will allow attendees to discuss a variety of fire and life safety topics with peers while expanding professional connections. The resource center will provide downloadable assets ranging from CRR and wildfire resources to Fire Prevention Week™ promotions and materials available on www.sparky.org and www.SparkySchoolHouse.org.
Register for SOPE as soon as possible, as space is limited!
For this release and other announcements about NFPA initiatives, research and resources, please visit the NFPA press room.
About the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
Founded in 1896, NFPA is a global self-funded nonprofit organization devoted to eliminating death, injury, property and economic loss due to fire, electrical and related hazards. The association delivers information and knowledge through more than 300 consensus codes and standards, research, training, education, outreach and advocacy; and by partnering with others who share an interest in furthering the NFPA mission. For more information, visit www.nfpa.org. All NFPA codes and standards can be viewed online for free at www.nfpa.org/freeaccess.