Blog Archives
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Deadline Approaching for Scholarship Opportunity for Fire Safety Educators
By Dayna Hilton - Thursday March 17, 2011
Just received a reminder this morning that the application deadline for the 2011 NFPA Fire and Life Safety Educator scholarship must be received by close of business tomorrow, March 18th. There is still time to get your application in. Having seen educators benefit from this opportunity, many have found it a great opportunity for professional development and networking. The dates for the conference (in Boston) are June 12th-15th of this year. Here is the link and full information on the scholarship process: NFPA Conference & Expo Scholarships The photo is a photo from last year's event that I took. It was an incredible learning experience for all! Best of luck! Until next time, stay safe! -
Wednesday Fire Safety Programming Tip 3/16/11
By Dayna Hilton - Wednesday March 16, 2011
This week there have been many wonderful resources that have become available to educators. I couldn’t wait to share some of them with you on the Playing it Safe blog here on firehouse.com! "Never Leave Your Child Alone in a Car" Initiative The first program is expanded national education and awareness program designed to help reduce the number of child deaths in cars and trucks caused by heat stroke. This initiative was launched this week by Safe Kids USA and their partner, the General Motors Foundation. According to information on the initiative released yesterday, there were a record number of 2010 deaths that demanded expanded efforts. In addition, Safe Kids USA conservatively estimates... -
Wednesday Fire Safety Programming Tip 3/9/11
By Dayna Hilton - Wednesday March 9, 2011The Learning Resource Center (LRC) at the National Emergency Training Center is a great resource that provides prevention and fire safety related materials for fire safety educators. The LRC is a reference service that provides both onsite and an online catalog of resources. The beauty of the LRC is that many materials may be obtained through an interlibrary loan The LRC has been in existence since 1978, and the easiest way to access their materials is through their online catalog. This online catalog is available to students, first responders and the public 24/7 and there are over 18,000 downloadable documents. And get this~ The LRC has the most extensive collection of fire service literature in the United States You may access the... -
Wednesday Fire Safety Programming Tip 3/2/11
By Dayna Hilton - Wednesday March 2, 2011
In a previous post , I mentioned that NFPA was searching for the new "Voice of Sparky®" to celebrate Sparky’s 60 th birthday. Career firefighters, volunteer firefighters or other fire department employees were invited to submit videos of themselves giving their best Sparky impersonation. NFPA received two dozen videos, and a panel of judges from NFPA selected three finalists based on the best representation of Sparky's voice, as well as the creativity and enthusiasm used in the creation of the video. A big hearty congratulations to Barry Brickey , public education officer for the Kingsport (TN) Fire Department for being selected as the new "Voice of Sparky®". Barry will receive an authentic Sparky the Fire... -
The moment many of us have been waiting for!
By Dayna Hilton - Thursday February 17, 2011
This just out! If you are like me, you have be waiting with anticipation for the third edition of the Fire and Life Safety manual from IFSTA to come out. It was an honor to serve on the validation committee for the manual, and within the coming week, the Playing it Safe blog will be sharing some of the thoughts of committee members and from one of the writers of the book, Beverley Walker, on the importance and benefit of this new manual. In the meantime, here's a description of the manual, "The third edition of Fire and Life Safety Educator provides the educator with knowledge to support successful performance as a fire and life safety educator as addressed in NFPA® 1035, Standard for Professional Qualifications for... -
Wednesday Fire Safety Programming Tip 2/15/11
By Dayna Hilton - Wednesday February 16, 2011One of the things that I enjoy doing on the Playing Safe Blog here on Firehouse.com, is sharing ideas with other educators. When I was a new fire safety educator, I was nicknamed "Sponge" by a fellow educator, because I loved learning as much as I could. Since I was fortunate to have many wonderful folks help me over the years, I enjoy "giving back" and sharing not only the things that I have learned from others, but ideas that I have come up with myself. I also enjoy sharing programs and activities that I have modified from the ideas of others that I have tailored to our programming and activities to reach the specific risks in our area. For this week's post, I made a video about how I document our department's fire safety... -
Wednesday Fire Safety Tip 2/9/2011
By Dayna Hilton - Wednesday February 9, 2011
Low on funds? Contests are a wonderful way to help supplement your fire safety program. Over the years, I have seen many educators enter contests that have helped them with their program. I don’t know about you, but I love contests! Contests having prizes that include fire safety related materials are even more fun! I recently learned that this year is a special year as Sparky the Fire Dog® turns 60. To celebrate his birthday, NFPA is looking for one special firefighter to be the voice behind this iconic mascot. Who is eligible? Firefighters and those that work for fire departments are eligible to participate. It’s easy to do! Simply enter a video of your best Sparky impersonation between now and February 16th. The winner will... -
Siren and his journey to become a fire safety dog.
By Dayna Hilton - Tuesday February 8, 2011
Throughout my life, I have been fortunate to have adopted many dogs. The last two that I adopted, Sparkles and Spanner, were exceptional in every way. Spanner passed away in May 2008 at 9 years old and Sparkles in October 2010 at 12 years old. Both loved helping me with my fire safety programming and activities, both were extremely calm and both loved children. I have always felt that the man upstairs truly blessed me with these two amazing animals/friends. Since the beginning of last year, I began the preparation to get a new Dalmatian puppy. In September, “Siren” came to live with us. I was so fortunate that Sparkles and Siren had the opportunity to bond and that Sparkles got to share some of the “ropes” of being a fire safety... -
Wednesday Fire Safety Programming Tip 2/2/11
By Dayna Hilton - Wednesday February 2, 2011Welcome to the "Playing it Safe" blog! Hope that everyone is having a good week so far. Let's get started with this week's fire safety programming tip. You see them out there. Companies of all types trying to sell your fire department their wares, from everything to oven mitts, to cups, to coloring books, you name it. These things might be nice to have, but many items might be over the top and too expensive. Have you considered developing your own materials? Developing your own materials can be a less expensive option and can help your department target those particular risks in your community. Before I share a tip for helping save money with one of my favorite items, trading cards, I would like to mention two important... -
Wednesday Fire Safety Program Tip
By Dayna Hilton - Wednesday January 26, 2011
One of the things that I learned early on as an educator, was the importance of knowing where to find fire related statistics. At the time, I wondered how this could be helpful, but it didn’t take me long to realize that knowing the fire problem in my area was the key to my fire safety efforts. There are many resources out there, but wanted to share one of my favorites. The United States Fire Administrations Fire in the United States (15 th Edition) report provides a statistical overview of fires in the United States and is designed to equip the fire service and others with information that motivates corrective action, sets priorities, targets specific fire programs, serves as a model for State and local analyses of fire...
