NFPA Developing Standard for Community Risk Reduction Plans
A report posted on the organization's website this week said NFPA's Standards Council has approved a request to establish the standard.
NFPA's Standards Council has approved a request that the association develop a new standard for community risk assessments and reduction plans. The standard, to be finished within two years, will establish a process for jurisdictions to follow in developing and implementing a risk reduction plans and allocate resources to minimize risks, according to a report posted on NFPA's website.
The request came from the Institution of Fire Engineers' Vision 20/20 project. On Sept. 17, the project announced it has received an FY2013 FEMA Fire Prevention and Safety Grant with two goals: increasing the number of working smoke alarms in the United States and the number of fire departments adopting community risk reduction concepts.
"Community risk reduction is a proven method of making a community safer," Vision 20/20 Project Manager Jim Crawford said. "With FEMA's support, we can expand upon the tools we have developed and help make them easier to use and more accessible for fire departments across the nation."
According to Vision 20/20, community risk reduction "stresses partnerships between fire departments and community organizations in reaching out to the public with education and installing smoke alarms in high-risk demographics." For More information, visit www.strategicfire.org.
The NFPA online report said there is growing interest in this concept, citing the International Association of Fire Chiefs strategic planning platform as recognizing the need for the fire service to embrace an integrated approach to community risk reduction, as well as being part of the National Fire Academy curriculum.