Received word today that the Arizona Fire and Burn Educator Association is still taking registration for their characterization camp that will be held January 31 through February 3, 2011. You can take advantage of the early bird special if you sign up before December 31, 2010. This is a hands-on camp where participants can expect to work and share ideas and networking at this conference is key. You can bring your programs to share and have qualified professionals critique them. You can pack you puppets, props and costumes and makeup and be sure to bring your camera. If you have never attended the characterization camp before, it will be an entirely new experience, according to the camp organizers. I had the opportunity to attend the...

Educators! I don't know about you, but the word "free" perks up these fire safety educator's ears big time! In my inbox today I received a note about NFPA's Project Holiday , and I have to tell you,  Project Holiday  is a great way to help you help your community be fire-safe! Project Holiday is a free, online tool kit is stuffed to the brim with all you need for a comprehensive holiday safety campaign, including updated tip sheets on Christmas tree and holiday safety. Included on the site are fire safety videos, Christmas tree tags with fire safety tips that you can share with local retailers, safety tip sheets, press sheets and more! And, BONUS, these materials are available at no cost. For those of us suffering from...

Have you ever stopped to wonder how attached people can become to their pets? Perhaps you are one of these people, considering your pet like a member of the family.   As an educator, you can use this to your advantage. As many of us know, people, at times, can be complacent, thinking, “Oh, a fire will never happen to me, it is something that happens to other people.”   You may share fire safety with some folks and they may be one of those complacent people that I just described. Have you ever considered trying this approach~ sharing with them that perhaps they want to help keep their pets safe?   When doing your presentation where you typically say something like, “You want to practice fire safety to help keep you...

I recently heard a disturbing story from a colleague of mine. The two of us were sharing information with each other on smoke alarm installation programs.   Both of us share the fundamental belief that the best practice to help keep homeowners safe would be for fire departments to install smoke alarms, not simply hand them to a homeowner. I was surprised to learn from her that in some cases, homeowners that were simply given the smoke alarms (without the installation component) took the smoke alarms to pawn shops, were they could get up to $2 for each alarm. That one was a new one to me and I was saddened to hear that such a thing actually happened.   She shared another story (one similar to other stories that I have heard...