The document describes Seattle Fire Department's model for educating multicultural communities about fire safety. In response to a tragic house fire that killed five East African immigrants, SFD developed a program using Community Fire Safety Advocates (CFSAs) from within the East African community to conduct culturally appropriate fire safety outreach. CFSAs are given training and materials, then provide education at community events in native languages. An evaluation found the CFSAs significantly improved fire safety knowledge and behaviors among East African immigrants. The program was later expanded to reach more language communities.

1. {
Community Fire Safety Advocates
A model for educating multicultural communities

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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

5. 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.
Courtesy The Seattle Times

6. 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.
Courtesy The Seattle Times

7. Courtesy The Seattle Times
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.

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

9. 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

10. Our Challenge
To deliver culturally relevant fire safety education targeted to the
risks of the identified community.
To be successful, we needed
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Culturally competent educators & delivery methods.
An understanding of the target groups’ fire risks.
Partnership with agencies and groups already engaged with
the target communities.
Access to the target communities.
Motivation by the target communities to learn fire safe
behaviors.
CULTURAL COMPETENCE refers to an ability to successfully negotiate crosscultural differences in order to accomplish practical goals.

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

12. Seattle Fire Department’s
Multicultural Outreach Model
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.

13. 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.

14. Characteristics
of Advocates:
1.
2.
3.
4.
They come from the
community in which
they work,
They have standing
and trust from
members of that
community,
They speak the same
language,
They identify and
have a sense of
service with the
community

15. Our Goals
We had five goal
areas for the initial
Community Fire
Safety Advocate
program.

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

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

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

19. Goal #4
Increase the Fire Department’s
understanding of the needs
and concerns of the East
African community.

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

21. 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).

22. 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.

23. Graduation Ceremony
Advocates are provided with certificates
and Department name badges upon
completion of their training.

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

25. Fire Safety
Education 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.

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

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

28. Outreach activities are conducted
through a variety of avenues.

29. Outreach Event: Community Fair

30. Outreach Event: Community Fair

31. Outreach Event: Summer Festival

32. Outreach Event: Community Presentation

33. Outreach Event: Health Fair

34. Outreach Event: Apartment Meeting

35. Outreach Event: Elders Group

36. Outreach Event: Smoke & CO Alarms

37. Outreach Event:
Fire Station Open House

38. 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.

39. Pilot Project Results (2010-2011)
•
Ten East African community members received capacitybuilding 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.

40. Interviews with
Community Fire Safety Advocates

41. Anecdotal Results
A 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.

42. Program Expansion (2012)
New Community Fire Safety Advocates have added
additional languages.
Newest CFSAs speak Vietnamese, Cambodian, Lao, Thai, Chinese.

43. Currently ten communities
are receiving fire and life safety
information in their native language.

44. Our Major Challenges
1.
2.
3.
Fitting an unconventional
program into a conventional
fire service.
Understanding and meeting
the needs of the diverse
customs, languages and
traditions among and within
Seattle’s immigrant/refugee
groups.
Evaluating program
effectiveness beyond the
number of people reached
to see if behavior change
occurs.

45. Program Evaluation
Evaluation 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.

46. Advocate Evaluation
1. Each CFSA must pass a skillsbased 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.

47. Program Activities Evaluation
In-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

48. Fire on Stove
Goal 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.
26%
correct
74%
incorrect
97%
correct
Correct Response
Pan on Fire Activity
No coaching
Correct Response
Pan on Fire Activity
With coaching

49. Home Escape Sequencing
Goal 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.
40%
correct
98%
correct
60%
incorrect
Correct Response
Home Escape Sequencing
No coaching
Correct Response
Home Escape Sequencing
With coaching

50. Given the variety of
evaluation measures
taken—advocate skills
tests, quarterly informal
evaluations, targeted
assessment of teaching
activities and anecdotal
results—
— we feel that initial evidence has
been collected that affirms the worth
of this innovative fire safety program
for multicultural communities.

51. 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.

52. SEATTLE FIRE DEPARTMENT
Fire Prevention Division
Public Education Section
Seattle.gov/fire
fireinfo@seattle.gov