Home Safety Council Awarded Fire Act Grant to Launch
National Fire Safety Literacy Program Campaign will help low-literate adults overcome a
barrier to learning basic fire safety skills
WASHINGTON, Jul 1, 2004 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- The Home Safety Council,
a national nonprofit organization, has received a federal grant of $629,902
to carry out an unprecedented home fire safety campaign designed to reach
adults with low literacy skills. The campaign will utilize easy-to-read fire
safety materials and will include the guided installation of free smoke
alarms in the homes of participants.
Some 90 million adults in the U.S. have low reading ability, a serious
barrier to learning necessary home fire safety skills and to understanding
and applying key fire protection measures in the home, such as installing
and maintaining adequate smoke alarm protection.
The Home Safety Council Fire Safety Literacy Program is funded through a
2003 Fire Prevention and Safety Grant, administered by the Federal Emergency
Management Agency's (FEMA) United States Fire Administration (USFA). The
program partnership includes HSC, ProLiteracy Worldwide, and Oklahoma State
University's Fire Protection Publications (FPP) and will be carried out
locally with the cooperation and participation of the nation's fire
departments.
"The fire service challenge of communicating safety messages to people with
varying reading levels cannot be overstated," says Home Safety Council
President Meri-K Appy. "We know that simply translating safety advice into
other languages leaves a gap that almost certainly neglects a large segment
of the public. The Fire Safety Literacy Program bridges that gap by
connecting the fire service with local literacy providers through a
systematic community outreach and education program."
The program's uncommon approach pairs these two parties in a powerful
community team. The fire department partner will deliver greatly needed home
fire safety messages and oversee the installation of free home smoke alarms.
The literacy partner will provide the learning opportunity to present fire
safety messages and ensure they reach the people who need the information
most -- in an appropriate format they can read, understand, and put to use.
ProLiteracy staff tested a sampling of current public fire safety materials
against the Gunning-Fox Index readability measure and determined that
messages commonly used by U.S. fire departments are written at a 6th-11th
grade reading level. "That's well beyond what 90 million adults in the U.S.
can read," said Linda Church, ProLiteracy associate director of special
projects. "Not only do we need instructional materials that can be easily
understood by low-level readers, we also need a structured and targeted
program to make sure they receive this life-saving information."
Among the program deliverables will be smoke alarms and a Fire Safety
Literacy Kit provided at no charge through the Home Safety Council's Expert
Network, an online resource serving fire and life safety professionals in
the U.S. (www.homesafetycouncil.org/expertnetwork
). The Kit will include program guidance for training literacy tutors and
fire service educators, as well as illustrated instructional materials
developed specifically to teach basic fire safety measures to adult
students.
"The United States has an unacceptable death and injury rate due to fire,"
says USFA Administrator R. David Paulison. "President Bush and DHS Secretary
Ridge have made it clear, homeland security starts at home. Our nation needs
effective public private partnerships like this to identify and reach
American homes lacking smoke alarms and basic fire safety education."
The Fire Safety Literacy Program will begin with a pilot test conducted in
urban and rural areas in the United States.
ProLiteracy Worldwide is the oldest and largest nonprofit literacy
organization in the world. Its U.S. programs division ProLiteracy America
provides support and materials to 1200 affiliates in all 50 states and
Washington, DC, serving more than 225,000 adult learners.
Oklahoma State University's Fire Protection Publications was established to
carry out the mission of the International Fire Service Training Association
(IFSTA). FPP, a not-for-profit entity, is the world's leading publisher of
training materials for the fire and emergency services, publishing and
distributing the IFSTA-validated training manuals.
The Home Safety Council is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to
helping prevent the more than 21 million medical visits that occur on
average each year from unintentional injuries in the home. Through national
programs and partners across America, the Home Safety Council works to
educate and empower families to take actions that help keep them safer in
and around their homes. To learn more about the Council's programs,
partnerships and resources visit the Home Safety Council at
www.homesafetycouncil.org
SOURCE Home Safety Council
Shannon McDaniel, +1-678-996-2003, for Home Safety Council
