Public Education

The Importance of Community Involvement

Community involvement is not new to the fire service. The very nature of the profession is to assist the community. In order to offer a high degree of service to the community, howerver, it is imperative for a fire rescue department to understand the community it serves.

The best way to understand a community would be to interact with it. Public relations, such as "Learn Not To Burn" programs, and learning how to access local fire rescue departments during emergencies, are standard programs that most fire rescue departments use to interact with their communities. Despite this, with the rapidly changing demographics of most communities throughout the country, the current involvement of departments should be expanded. Listed below are a few things a fire rescue department can do to become more involved with its community.

• Access the community
• Research the community
• Train fire rescue department personnel in the various social conditions, cultural diversity, and changing demographics
• Involve fire stations with local communities.

 

Potential Benefits

In order for these efforts to be successful, it is imperative that a fire rescue department be committed to a long-term involvement with the community. Department philosophy, as well as policies and procedures, should be established to guide personnel in how to become more involved with the community. Although the idea of a long-term commitment can cause anxiety, the benefits can be enormous. Some potential benefits that can be received by active involvement with the community are:

• Higher quality of service
• Increased understanding and less tension when providing service to the community
• Community contacts to disseminate information to the community
• Increased public relations
• Decreased hostility and tension between the fire rescue department and the community

For more information, please contact the director of Public Education:

Shirley Copeland
P.O.Box 548
Gainesville, Florida 32601