Wednesday Safety Chat

Aug. 17, 2011

Hope everyone has survived the summer. Arkansas experienced over 28 days of 100 degree heat or more and it is just now getting a bit cooler, thank goodness. 

On the Playing it Safe blog, I enjoy sharing sites that provide resources at no cost. Vision 20/20 has a very useful Fire Prevention Advocacy Toolkit online that helps the fire service demonstrate the value of fire prevention. These resources are available at no cost to you or your department, thanks to a Fire Act grant.

What is great about this site is that this web-based tool kit gives local fire departments the tools they need to prove the value of fire prevention in saving lives and reducing the impact of fire on a community and its economy.
 

Included in this toolkit, are resources such as:

  • Fire prevention advocacy strategies
  • Community investment in fire prevention
  • Implementing an advocacy program
  • Working with the local media
  • Evaluating your program’s impact Reaching audiences

There is so much useful information on this site that you will hopefully find many “Nuggets” for your fire prevention program.

The Vision 20/20 Fire Prevention Advocacy Toolkit can be found at
www.StrategicFire.org http://www.strategicfire.org. You can also follow them on Twitter @strategicfire and Facebook at
www.Facebook.com/strategicfire http://www.facebook.com/strategicfire.

The fire safety dogs and I are getting ready to take a big trip, with stops in North Canton, Ohio and Tysons Corner, Virginia. We are very excited that we will be doing two fire safety presentations at the North Canton Fire Department during their town's Main Street Festival.

After that, we travel to Virginia to present at BlogPaws. BlogPaws is an event for pet bloggers and I am excited to be on the panel with Travelin' Jack and PetSmart to discuss "Niche Blogging." Not only will the dogs and I share information about Sparkles' Safety Blog, we will be sharing valuable fire safety tips as well for those in attendance. If you would like to see something fun, check out the new video that we made that will be played before we enter the room at BlogPaws. You can watch it HERE.

You are welcome to follow the fire safety dog's travels on their Facebook pages at:

http://www.facebook.com/Sparklesthefiresafetydog

http://www.facebook.com/Sirenthefiresafetydog

http://www.facebook.com/Tangothefiresafetydog

Last night the fire safety dogs and I celebrated the 10th episode of Sparkles’ Safety Spot (http://www.stickam.com/viewMedia.do?mId=192014585). We really do enjoy streaming on the web. If you have an opportunity, check out the last  episode. Hopefully you might find something in the recording useful to help your fire safety program. The topic was “Tools and Toys.” Many of you may utilize something similar to this, but if you are new and not familiar with this, hopefully you will find the clip useful and utilize something like this in your fire safety program. 

Well, that’s it for now. The fire safety dogs and I have to pack for the big trip. Until next time, stay safe!

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