The Need
In 2003, there were no systematic fire safety and prevention outreach programs for children in schools throughout San Francisco. Neither the San Francisco Fire Department, nor the San Francisco Unified School District had programs in effect to reach children regarding fire safety. The San Francisco Firefighters in Safety Education (SFFISE) program emerged out of the need to fill this gap in safety education in San Francisco. The Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation partners with San Francisco firefighters to deliver this important program to children in schools throughout the city. Fire prevention safety programs are successful. The SFFISE program operates from a belief that proactive education will save lives, empowering children with information to protect themselves and their families from fire-related injuries and fatalities.
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Our Mission
The San Francisco Firefighters in Safety Education (SFFISE) program serves preschool and elementary school students, by facilitating interactive 30 minute fire and burn safety presentations. SFFISE reaches out to both public, independent and parochial schools in an attempt to educate “each kid, each year”. Off-duty San Francisco firefighters teach children basic skills regarding what to do in the event of a fire or other emergency. Children also receive supplemental information about to take home and share with their parents. With the support of participating school administrators, a Safety Outline in 7 different languages is distributed to parents. Our mission is that children return home as ambassadors of fire safety for their homes.
The SFFISE program operates under the responsibility of the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation, a California statewide non-profit organization that is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for burn survivors and promoting burn prevention education. SFFISE volunteers are recruited from the San Francisco Fire Department. With support from Chief Joanne Hayes-White, Chief of Fire Prevention Thomas Harvey, dozens of individual firefighters, and fire engine crews, the SFFISE program has a wide-reaching effect throughout the city.
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Accomplishments
In the 10 years of its operation, SFFISE has educated 70,000 San Francisco students in 60 different schools. In 2012, an abstract titled Repeated Dissemination of Burn Prevention Information to Students Increases Knowledge Retention, based on 2010 and 2011 student evaluation data was accepted for publication at the 44th Annual American Burn Association conference.
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