Welcome!

Welcome to the Playing it Safe blog. My name is Dayna Hilton and helping others stay fire safe is my passion. As a second-generation firefighter and fire safety educator from Clarksville, Arkansas, I have committed my life to helping others keep fire safe, not only in my community, but throughout the state and nation. And, like many of you, the desire to reduce fire-related incidents, loss of life, and the destruction of property is central to my life.

One of the things that I enjoy most, is learning what other educators do to promote fire safety in their communities. It was during 2003 at the NationalFireAcademy that I discovered my innate desire to learn all that I could about fire safety. Instructor Cheryl Edwards of the Lakeland Fire Department nicknamed me “Sponge” based on my persistent questioning of peers about their fire safety programming. Little did I realize at that time that what I learned those two short weeks at the FireAcademy would later become the basis for my department’s fledgling fire safety program. I quickly learned on that trip that educators are great people, always willing to share their wealth of knowledge and best practices. I will always be grateful for the insights and willingness others have afforded me to help jumpstart my department’s fire safety efforts. Through this blog, experienced educators will be able to “give back” by helping advance fire safety programming throughout the country. Over the years, I have realized that there are many educators in the field with some incredible fire safety programs and ideas. A number of educators are fortunate to have unlimited budgets, and others, like myself, do what we can with little or no funding. Each of these groups works hard, no matter what their financial status, toward the common goal of keeping those in our community fire safe. Based on the number of telephone calls and emails that I receive requesting low cost fire safety programming information, I have concluded that fire safety educators need a way to share their ideas. Through a recent conversation with Pete Matthews at Firehouse.com, he graciously offered me the opportunity to develop a blog where educators from across the country, like you and me, would have a place to share: 1) programming ideas and/or initiatives, 2) low cost fire safety programming ideas and 3) what’s new in fire safety. I truly appreciate Firehouse.com for providing fire safety educators with this resource, and I encourage you to join me as we travel to fire departments across the country to feature their innovative fire safety efforts. Together, we’ll learn about their programs and hopefully gain some new ideas to implement into our department’s current programming. Please consider sharing information about your department’s fire safety program or initiatives - there are many educators across the country who would love to hear from you. All thoughts and ideas are welcome. There is a wealth of information out there, and, together, we will be Playing it Safe.