Coordinated strategies in burn prevention programs: a case study.

Abstract

Smoke alarm giveaway programs can be successful, as demonstrated by the experience of the extensive 1982 Baltimore Fire Department project. In the absence of municipal government commitment for such an intensive campaign, a community program that involves many sectors can also be successful. It may, in fact, reach elements of the high-risk population who do not traditionally participate in smoke detector programs, such as renters. A decrease in "extra-alarm" fires and fire deaths can be achieved with multifaceted programs. In Dade County, with a growing population of approximately 1.7 million people that includes large migrant and illegal alien populations, fire-related deaths decreased from 26 in 1985 and 27 in 1986 to 17 in 1987. In the city of Miami, the county's inner core, fire-related deaths decreased by half from 1985 to 1987, in spite of an increase in high-risk population groups and substandard housing. Thus through extensive networking, the integrated efforts of a cross-section of the community can result in a successful safety campaign that has little overhead or political constraints. Designed as multifaceted, ongoing community-based programs, such efforts can, over time and through "persistent learning," lead to desired changes in behavior.