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Community Risk Reduction for Fire
Introduction
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In contemporary society, it is evident that everyone calls for the help or advice of risk
managers. Risk managers help such people to overcome the obstacles in life, given that most
of the barriers are accidental. Risks managers offer guidance with purpose and experience.
After assessing the level of damage, a risk manager needs to consider the clients' needs,
which is the default task in the intervention. The risk managers think about the safety of the
client in the first place.
Risks involve disasters that cause massive loss of lives, properties, assets, to mention
but a few. These disasters may occur naturally or under the influence of human activities.
Disasters that affect communities are so many. They include floods, mudslides, accidents,
wildfires, earthquakes, tsunamis, and many more (WHO, 2018). The above mentioned are the
most common risks that communities face. Enough needs to be done to address the
community risks. To develop remedies to reduce fire issues in the communities, emergency
managers need an integrated approach. The approach needs to create a balance between the
measures of emergency response and appropriate actions. When done most effectively, risks
are reduced. Therefore, it means that fire emergency managers and departments should act
best when threats occur and work towards developing measures that prevent or reduce the
risk from happening. Community risk managers provide strategic risk management for the
community. There is also to know that even when these risk management strategies are
applied, risks may still occur. The procedures do not entirely stop hazards from happening,
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and that one strategy may not offer a solution to all dangers. The paper encompasses
mitigation and prevention plans for fire through use of a Community Risk Reduction Plan.
Agencies Involved in the Plan
Fire Protection Department
There are many factors to bring on board to change the risk behaviors among
community members. In the fire service, community risk reduction and for many years, fire
departments have been in the forefront to reduce risks by carrying out several responsive
activities, for instance, inspection, creation of public awareness. These concepts need to be in
a focused manner that achieves the objectives, goals, and mission of the fire department.
Law Enforcement Officers
The process of enforcement involves laws. Fire emergency managers need to adopt
applicable regulations to prevent risks from taking place in the community. The rules can be
informed of inspection programs, penalties for those who fail to comply with the laws,
ensuring fire extinguishers, sprinklers, and alarms in homes, institutions, and social places
such as hospitals and social halls.
The Gas/Electric Suppliers
The gas and electric suppliers need to encourage individuals and community members
to make choices and act in specific ways. These incentives can change individuals positively
or negatively. To discourage behaviors that may cause risks, fines and citations are used to do
away with that behavior. Positive incentives also change an individual's behavior. These
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positive economic incentives include free sales, discounts. For instance, homes that have
fitted fire extinguishers are offered a reduction when they pay taxes.
Response Requirements for Various Entities within the Community
A good emergency response can help prevent sudden injuries. The good answers can
be effective in saving lives and a reduction in the loss of property. The emergency response
comprises of enough team and staff members who are well trained, enough resources. The
staff and the emergency response team need to respond on time. The community becomes
less susceptible to risks when the fire department managers or team deploy enough resources
to match the risk levels. The community is also able to avoid loss of property, injuries, and
even loss of lives. During disasters, the emergency response teams get overwhelmed by the
nature of the incidents. The level of the disasters may not match the status of the resources
that the emergency teams provide.
Similarities and Differences in how the Entities Operate
Similarities
To develop mitigation measures and tactics, all the agencies within the community
complete the risk assessment and give priorities of the risks within the community. Strategies
that use a comprehensive and broad-based approach are efficient in risk management. Many
techniques can be in use to prevent community risks. For each chance, there is a need to
focus on the audience, the place the events are occurring, the time the events are happening.
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They both have a group development plan. Designing and creating a planning group is
essential. There is a need to collaborate with significant stakeholders because risk
management issues do involve not only the functions of the fire department but also the
community as a whole. Healthy planning groups bring on board insights and critical ideas,
which can significantly help the whole planning process. To come up with a planning group,
there are a couple of issues to take into account. The planning group allows the fire
department to prioritize the risks that need to be addressed in the CRR plan. The group also
gives preventive measures and strategies and ensures the implementation of the plan.
All the agencies within the community experiences barriers. There are many risks that
bar the teams within the community from designing an effective CRR coalition. For instance,
lack of timed meetings, data collection, lack of facilities for meetings, lack of support from
members from various stakeholders, lack of enough resources, and lack of high level of
commitment from those who are participating in the plan.
All the agencies create and develop public awareness to enable people to have a good
smoking habit and behavior change. The fire managers or department needs to put in place
the necessary or proper containers in complex areas to do away with placing smoking
materials in plastic materials. The emergency response team must collaborate with
communities; for instance, the nurses or other health practitioners visit and identify
individuals who smoke for outreach programs. There is a need to be put in legislation to curb
smokers. Fire emergency managers together with law enforcement officers need to adopt
applicable laws to prevent risks from taking place in the community. The regulations can
inform inspection programs and penalties for those who fail to comply with the rules,
ensuring fire extinguishers, sprinklers, and alarms in homes, institutions, and social places
such as hospitals and social halls.
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Differences
The national fire protection department enhances the use of Five E’s as an
intervention. To put multiple interventions in use, risks are stopped from happening even
when prevention measures fail. The five plans can also prevent risks from taking place. They
help to create efficient solutions for risk management.
The gas and electric suppliers use incentives to encourage individuals and community
members to make choices and act in specific ways. These incentives can change individuals
positively or negatively. To discourage behaviors that may cause risks, fines and citations are
used to do away with that behavior. Positive incentives also change an individual's behavior.
These positive economic incentives include free sales, discounts. For instance, homes that
have fitted fire extinguishers are offered a reduction when they pay taxes.
How the Agencies Provide Hazard Mitigation
Plan preparation
Preparing plans is majorly the role of the lead agency or the lead teams within the
agencies. But it is not a necessity that the leadership teams are the ones to write the plan. It
can be given to any department. The CRR plan should infuse strategies, focus on the locals,
emphasize common elements, prioritize and identify the items for actions, and the urge to
reduce risks.
The plan gives an outline of the goals, the mission, and focus on the priorities, and so
on. The program provides a brief description of the community to offer risks. The plan needs
to identify the risks and give preferences (DeShong, 2014). The project also needs to list and
describe the interventions and tactics that the risk managers need to use. The planning
process needs to consider the process of implementation, which involves identifying the
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necessary resources and the allocation of these resources. The plan should be time-bound; it
has to include the times and dates for implementing the strategy. The project needs to have
measures to evaluate and monitor if the program chosen was successful.
In the homes, there is a need to use materials for roofing that are combustible free,
create an evacuation plan for the family, keep away items that can quickly turn from the
house, keep off cooking which is outdoors, and fireworks near the vegetation.
After the fire outbreak, there is a need to put to practice the evacuation plan for the
family and that of the community (Chan & Murray, 2017). There is also the need to maintain
clear roads for emergency vehicles to pass, do away with curtains from the windows and
doors because they might catch fire, power off the cooking gas or the natural gas from the
meter, and so on. Another technique is to identify routes for escape within the community
and assess areas that act as safe zones; the zones can be centers for evacuation.
Creating CRR Acceptance
Organizational cultures are a barrier to creating acceptance to the CRR program.
Many fire departments only focus on emergency operations, and fire emergency managers'
training does infuse CRR. Most of their activity does not involve the measures of prevention
of the strategy. Among the community members, there is a need to design an emergency plan
that involves notices and systems for alerting and prioritizing the particular population, for
instance, the neighbors with disabilities.
Similarities in Emergency Response in Cases of Terrorism
Risk management officers need to develop critical insights on the different strategies
that can be appropriate to suit the risk that has occurred in the community (WHO, 2018). The
emergency managers also need to develop a list of implications or effects; the implications
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must revolve around politics, finances, logistics, organizations, and culture (DeShong, 2014).
The interventions that the risk managers provide help address the clients' physical, emotional,
mental, and behavioral problems. The clients are taught coping skills since the counseling
process requires intervention frameworks that are flexible and goal-oriented. The
interventions need to be quick to ensure safety, initiate contact, explore the issue, give
support, analyze the possible solutions, draw a plan, obtain commitment and do a follow-up.
Conclusion
Briefly, the plan gives an outline of the goals, the mission, and focus on the priorities,
and so on. The program provides a brief description of the community to offer risks. The plan
needs to identify the risks and give preferences. The project also needs to list and describe the
interventions and tactics that the risk managers need to use. The planning process needs to
consider the process of implementation, which involves identifying the necessary resources
and the allocation of these resources.
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References
Chan, E. & Murray, V. (2017). What are the Health Research Needs for the Sendai
Framework? The Lancet 390(10106): e35–e36.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736 (17)31670-7/full
text
DeShong, R. (2014). Identifying the Components of a Community Risk Reduction Coalition
for the City of Miramar (Florida). United States Fire Administration, National Fire
Academy
WHO (2018). Injuries and disability: Priorities and Management for Populations affected by
the Earthquake and Tsunami in Asia.
http://www.who.int/violenceinjuryprevention/otherinjury/tsunami/en/
