Teamwork: The Road to a Championship – What Can We (FASNY) Do for You?
By Daryl Buornat, Fire Prevention and Life Safety Committee Member
In January, the FASNY Fire Prevention and Life Safety Committee met in Albany to discuss, draft and implement plans specifically for what our committee and FASNY can do for the fire departments across New York State.
The first objective will be to implement changes to our current Web page on the FASNY website. We are in the process of making that www.preventfiresny.com easier to navigate through and adding valuable tips on fire prevention and life safety issues. We also plan to add usable and pertinent resources to guide departments in finding information on the subjects they are presenting.
A key point of the updated www.preventfiresny.com will be a link to the applications for FASNY Fire Safety Educator of the Year and Teacher of the Year awards. Presently, there are more than 1,800 fire departments in New York State, yet we are only receiving a handful of applications for the awards each year.
These awards are in place not to brag about who has the best program, but rather to encourage all departments to nominate an individual or group that they feel has made a difference in the field of fire prevention and life safety.
The second objective of our meeting was coming up with a way to assist departments with implementing or improving their existing fire prevention and life safety programs, as well as share ideas.
Our committee has met this objective by planning a seminar to be presented on May 30 at the Lyncourt Fire Department, 2909 Court St., Syracuse (Onondaga County).
There are many successful fire prevention and life safety programs in New York State. There are also many departments that either do not have these programs or are struggling to make their programs work.
This seminar will provide an opportunity for those in attendance to share their own success stories and also serve as a valuable learning tool for future successes. We want to provide the building blocks to assist you in making your program the best that it can be.
This seminar will consist of six key segments of a fire prevention and life safety program:
- Drafting Your Community Partners – getting schools, local businesses, houses of worship and civic groups involved in a positive and valuable way.
- Social Media (A Slam Dunk) – getting your message out to the public in a positive way using Web pages, Facebook, Twitter, et al. All can be valuable tools for having a successful fire prevention and life safety program.
- Fielding Funding Opportunities – how to get your budget to work for you and find valuable assets through grants and donations.
- Intercepting New Ideas – where to find fire prevention and life safety tips, print media or ideas to assist you in your program. There are many successful fire prevention and life safety programs in New York State. This seminar will provide you an opportunity to share yours ideas, pick up some helpful tips and learn from the successes of others.
- Lesson Planning (A Home Run) – by having concise, written lesson plans for all of your programs’ target audiences, you will hit all the bases each time you give a presentation, and discover new and valuable target audiences.
- Staying in the Game – health and wellness tips and ideas to keep you healthy and in the game. Now is the time for the volunteer fire service in New York State to change the culture of the way we take care of ourselves in order to better serve and educate our communities.
Please save the date May 30 to join us at this pilot seminar in Onondaga County. More information and registration details will be posted on the website as they are made available. We hope to see you there for what should be a fun and informative seminar.