Prevention of Fires and Other Incidents - Example

COMMUNITY SAFETY Report Student’s Name Instructor’s Name Course Title Date Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 INTRODUCTION 3 BACK GROUND 3 COMMUNITY RISK ASSESSMENT 4 MEASURES AND RESPONSE 5 Partnership 5 Strategic Measures 6 Short Term Measures 6 Medium Term Measures 7 Measures to Fight Related Anti-social Behavior 8 CONLUSION 9 REFERENCES 10 INTRODUCTION The fire department authority is guided by values that include the need to provide protection to people’s lives, their property and the entire environment. This can be achieved through ensuring the preparedness of the fire team, setting up a system of sustainable fire prevention methods, engaging the public together with other stakeholders and establishing an emergency response which ensure quality services. To this effect, the leaders of the fire department and other stakeholders need to be informed about the strategies in place, their implementation and the resource implications in matters concerning fire fighting. Cooperation here is the key since most of the fire incidences are crime related and hence the need to bring other stakeholders on board in order to ensure an all round approach to the safety and the health of our community. BACK GROUND According to Albinson (2004), arson acts occur due to several factors. One of the causal factors is the tendency of the youth to be disorderly and with a vandalism mentality. Criminal gangs are also known to engage in acts of arson as a way of revenge against their rivals or to conceal their criminal activities. Psychological issues mainly associated with drug abuse may cause mental illness that leads to acts of arson. Even the seemingly sane members of the society, may engage in arson due to racism motivated reasons (White et al, 2000). With increased unemployment rates, poverty levels and other social vices, the levels of fighting crimes in our society is bound to be a challenge to all the players in the sector . This will call for extra resources both human and physical resources (Albinson, 2004). The community is comprised of a diverse population which includes the youth, minorities who are immigrants and other groups such as the Indian community, which has the culture of avoiding interaction with the rest of the people. In the same population there are many students from the local university, a group which mainly consists of youthful people. With such a diverse population which is seemingly struggling to make ends meet, tensions are bound to exist increasing the risk for acts of arson. The risk of arson is also high due to the competition for the existing resources (Averill, 2010). Apart from the diverse population, the budget crisis experienced by the fire department also makes it hard to combat arson acts (Albinson, 2004). In our case, the prolonged economic recession forced the decision to cut the resources for the fire department. The little funds that we receive are meant to cover Emergency Medical Services, natural disasters, acts of terrorism, incidences of hazardous materials in the environment among other emergencies. Incidences in all these categories have been on the rise with no substantial increase in the money allocated to the fire department. COMMUNITY RISK ASSESSMENT The traditional focus when dealing with arson fires, has been the identification of fire hazards followed by the appointment of a good suppression force to help mitigate the emergency. Lentini (2006) states that, the new practices call for the fire department to go beyond the fire problem to other related problems such as medical emergencies and criminal issues. In each community, the fire events will manifest in different manners and have different effects since all communities are faced with different risks. This means that we cannot have a blanket approach to all fire and arson incidences, but we need to develop strategies that are tailor made to the needs of our particular community. Acts of arson lead to injuries and loss of human lives, economic losses, psychological effects and disruption of continuity of services in the community (Averill, 2010). Lentini (2006) classifies hazards into three categories based on the occupancy type and the inherent risks that they carry. The first category is the high-hazard occupancies such as hospitals, schools, explosive plants, high-rise buildings and other occupancies with a relatively higher fire potential. The second category is occupancies with medium-hazards, which include offices, residential apartments and other industrial. The third and final category is comprised of the low hazard occupancies these include few family dwellings that well spaced out, small business premises that are scattered and some industrial occupancies with little activity going on. The plan for the fire department needs to match the number and the locations of the different type of the occupancies. MEASURES AND RESPONSE Partnership To tackle the arson problem, the fire department cannot work in isolation. Other stakeholders, who are equally affected by arson, need to be brought on board to enable us to have a more comprehensive strategy. The fire department has the responsibility of mobilizing other stakeholders in the fight against arson. The team should include not only the police, but also agencies that deal with matters that regard the welfare of the community. We need to include agencies such Housing Departments, Local Education Authority, Housing Trusts, Leisure Services, Private Landlords, the Urban Planning Department, Transport Organizations, the Media, Social Service officers, Neighborhood Watch, Neighborhood Wardens, Local Business groups, Victim Support department, Voluntary Youth Services and the Probation Service (Albinson, 2004). The fire department should work with these groups to establish a local fund which will avail finances for the activities of reducing arson, contributing to a safer community for all people. All the partners need to be involved in the crime and disorder reduction meetings which are held on a regular basis. In working with the police, the fire department will benefit from intelligence information hence enabling the fire department to come with well informed strategies which will enable the department to tackle the issues of arson in a better a more effective manner. The police will also help in the subsequent prosecution of the arsonist, which will reduce the number of arson acts recorded by the fire department (Decker & Ottley, 2009). Strategic Measures Short Term Measures Short term efforts to will enable us to fight arson acts which have already plagued our area. We need to be well prepared for any emergencies that arise. This means establishing enough and variable resources to tackle the incidences that are already happening. The department needs to have enough firefighters who can be deployed when fire incidence occurs. These fire fighters need to be supplied with fire fighting gear to ensure their safety during fire fighting. The department also will benefit from extra fire fighting vehicles to ferry personnel and resources to the fire sites. The department of fire needs to come up with a reporting scheme that will enable even the Non-English speaking communities to be able to report incidences of arson in their area. This will help to increase response to any incidences that occur hence diminishing the loss that emanates from the acts of arson. Medium Term Measures For medium term solution of the problem, the efforts being made should be aimed at reducing acts of arson using a sustainable method of problem solving. The best way to do this is by initiating a campaign that will ensure that the community is given free fire reduction and prevention education. The training programs should tackle the root of the problem of arson in the community (White et al, 2000). To ensure sustainability, the community its self should be encouraged to propose ways in which to resolve the problem. When the solutions come from the community members themselves, they are bound to be more cooperative in the implementation. According to Albinson (2004), the fire authority needs to come up with a review of various policies that have a direct effect on fire incidences. These include a review of the building plans that should be used by the construction industry in the area. This will enhance the efforts of fighting fires since movement will be eased as well as a reduced spread of fires. The security of buildings should include 24 hour surveillance using CCTV cameras so as to detect fire incidences early and also be in a position to identify the criminals who are engaging in acts of arson. The buildings should be fitted with fire alarms and automatic sprinklers which can be able to extinguish fires that result from arson acts. The residential areas should be manned by watchmen who can be able to alert the fire department in case of any incidence. Measures to Fight Related Anti-social Behavior The acts of arson that are witnessed that are witnessed in the community don’t occur in isolation. The acts are accompanied by other antisocial behavior. These behaviors include drug abuse, illegal weapons and acts of robbery with violence. The rate of school dropouts is also on the rise. As we address the issue of arson, we also need to take care of the anti-social behaviors that are connected to it so as to have a more lasting solution. To reduce incidences of drug abuse, we need to commence with investigations to enable us to crack down on the drug dealers so that we can put a stop to the drug trafficking (Lentini, 2006). We also need to establish more strict laws that govern the ownership of fire arms in order to curb the incidences of robbery with violence. The laws will also enable prosecution of criminals easier. According to White et al (2000), we also need to establish rehabilitation centers, so as to help those who have become dependent to the drugs to help them reform and have a meaningful life. The community also needs to engage the youths in meaningful activities this can be by the setting up of recreation centers where youths can be able to play games and being idles, a state that makes engage in acts of lawlessness. The community should also set up funds to enable youths be able to set business ventures which offers them and the community at large employment opportunities hence making sure that they are preoccupied with meaningful activities. CONLUSION Deliberate fires that are higher in areas of lower socioeconomic areas result to big losses of properties and even lives. These fires also lead to disruption of services in the community. Tackling the problem can't be left to the fire authority alone since the motivating factors are beyond the department of fire. The best way is to apply a multi-sectoral approach to the issue. This call for the stakeholders in the community welfare should be brought on board. With the current level of arson incidences, both short term measures should be employed in order to avert a loss at the moment. To ensure that the problem does not recur in the future, medium term sustainable measures should be put in place. REFERENCES Albinson, B 2004, Prevention of Fires and Other Incidents, Swedish Rescue Services Agency, Emergency Prevention Department. Averill, N., et al. 2010, Report on Residential Fireground Field Experiments, U.S. Department of Commerce, Note 1661. Decker, J & Ottley, B 2009, Arson Law and Prosecution, Carolina, Carolina Academic Press. Lentini, J 2006, The Mythology of Arson investigation. Proceedings of the 2nd International Symposium on Fire Investigations Science and Technology, Sarasota. White, J., et al. 2000, Forensic Mental Health Care. Edinburgh, Churchill Livingston. Read More