The fire departments in Fort Mitchell and Florence were selected by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) as two of 250 departments across the U.S. to participate in the second phase of a pilot program to build a digital community risk assessment tool.
The Standard on Community Risk Assessment (CRA) and Community Risk Reduction (CRR), the tool, or “dashboard,” enables community leaders to gain valuable insights and make data-informed decisions around fire prevention and other risk-reduction activities in their communities.
“This tool will allow us to explore data as it relates to community trends and will help us to identify high risks occurring in our community while also allowing us to develop educational programs to address these trends,” said Fort Mitchell Fire Chief Adam Fuller.
The first phase of the pilot project included participants from 50 fire departments from across the country and helped to identify features of the digital dashboard which will work effectively and those which need fine-tuning. During the second phase of the program, departments will provide insights around the use of the dashboard through June 2021 to help continue refining and enhancing its effectiveness.
As participants in the pilot program, Fort Mitchell and Florence fire departments will have free access to the dashboard, including customized visualizations (maps, charts, graphs) which illustrate each community’s risks and hazards across a variety of categories such as demographics, geography, building stock, economics, infrastructure, and event loss history. The dashboard also provides a snapshot of local capacity for risk reduction activities with information about public safety response agencies and community service organizations.
“Access to accurate data will allow CRR leaders to use insights and make informed decisions about where to focus efforts and resources,” said Karen Berard-Reed, community risk reduction strategist at NFPA. “While many fire departments have struggled to work with data sets, NFPA’s CRA tool will do the complex work behind the scenes to compile relevant data allowing stakeholders to create effective community risk reduction plans that incorporate five priorities – education, engineering, enforcement, economic incentives, and emergency response – in the most impactful ways possible.”
“Participation in this project allows each fire department to provide important feedback that will be used to improve future versions of the dashboard, positions the community among CRR leaders in the United States, and signals an interest in leveraging technology to drive high-quality community safety initiatives,” said Berard-Reed.
“We are thrilled to be participating in this important project,” said Battalion Chief of Prevention Randy Childress. “Not only will access to the tool give us invaluable information about our community’s needs, but it’s rewarding to know that using the tool will increase its effectiveness and help other fire departments in the long run.”
“It’s quite an honor for our fire department to be included in this pilot program,” said Fort Mitchell Mayor Jude Hehman.
-Staff report
