department with 19 members. The department’s fire safety program started from humble
beginnings. In 2002, the department averaged 30 minutes of programming a year and had
zero budget for fire safety programming. In 2005, the department’s 115 fire safety programs
and activities reached almost 25,000 people.
The department relies heavily on its Firecorps members,
a program that supports and supplements fire
departments through the use of citizen advocates
for non-operational activities. Since August of 2002,
the students from the University of the Ozarks have
helped with the department’s fire safety program. In
February of 2005 after being awarded its third fire
prevention and safety grant, the firefighters realized
that it needed students from the University of the Ozarks even more.
The department joined the national Firecorps organization in March with the approval of the
Fire Chief and firefighters. Once approval was gained, the department’s Public Fire and Life
Safety Educator approached the Phi Beta Lambda organization at the University with the
possibility of taking on the department’s fire safety program as a community service project.
Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda, Inc. (FBLA-PBL) is the oldest and
largest national organization of students preparing for careers in business leadership. More
than a quarter million members in 6,000 schools share in the association’s core values of
service, education, and progress and participate in its mission, “to bring business and
education together in a positive working relationship through innovative leadership and
career development programs.”
With the help of the students, new facets were brought into the program, including more
structure and organization. The students were able to help the department with their
strategic planning and marketing of their fire safety program. Meetings, planning sessions
and training sessions were held throughout the summer with key officers of the organization
to prepare for their members arrival for the 2005-2006 school year. Since that time, the
group has been a vital part of the department’s programming and has helped contribute to
the reduction of the district’s reduction in property loss and burn injuries.
REDUCTION IN RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY LOSS AND BURN INJURIES
RFD #1 experienced a 34% decrease in residential property loss and maintained the
number of burn injuries since the previous year since the involvement of Firecorps. Each
year, with the increase of fire safety programming, the department has had the fortune of a
decrease in property loss.
Through the involvement of Firecorps, the department has seen a 287% increase in fire
safety programming over the previous year. In 2005, the department presented over 46
direct fire safety programs to 2570 children and 624 adults and was involved in 69 other fire
safety related activities that reached 24,817 people. Of that, the department’s Firecorps
have presented or help present 32 of the direct fire safety programs, participated in 59
other group activities and 79 individual activities for a total of 170 activities in 2005. The
group participated in 143 hours of fire safety training.
In 2003, there were 24 total programs and activities and 40 in 2004.
The department’s fire safety programming has reached residents in Johnson County and
five other counties in the state.
Firecorps Fire Safety Activities 2005
Total hours volunteered: 1669.75
Direct programs participated in: 32
Other fire safety related activities participated in: 59
Group Activity hours: 1506.50
Individual Activity hours: 163.25
Groups Activities participated in: 91
Individual Activities participated in: 79
Total Number of Group and Individual Activities: 170
Number of Firecorps Initiated Activities: 23
Total hours of fire safety training received: 142.50
Number of counties reached with fire safety activities: 3
Miles traveled: 380
Number of children through direct programming: 1830
Number of adults through direct programming: 442
Number of adults and children reached through other fire safety activities: 11,547
Total number of adults and children reached: 13,819
Total personal contact hours: 1404.75
RFD #1’s Fire Safety Program has been recognized
at the local, state and national level. According to Craig
Christiansen, Chairman of the Arkansas Fire Prevention
Commission, who stated at the Arkansas Firefighter
Convention when bestowing the Carnahan Award,
“Johnson County RFD #1’s program has grown to include
all of Johnson County and has taken a leadership role in
this type of effort. The emphasis here is on education of
all age groups, and serves as a model for others”. Commissioner Christiansen mentioned
the department’s Firecorps program as an attribute to the success of the department’s fire
safety programming. The Arkansas Fire Prevention Commission’s “Carnahan Award” is
given annually by the Commission to an Arkansas Fire Department for recognition for
excellence and achievement in the field of Fire and Life Safety and Fire Prevention.
Johnson County RFD #1 has been recognized on the national level by Firecorps. The
department and its Firecorps group, 60 members of the Phi Beta Lambda organization from
the University of the Ozarks have been featured on the front page of the Firecorps webpage
(www.firecorps.org), featured on the website several times and have appeared in numerous
articles nationally.
The department’s Firecorps group has received national recognition for its efforts. The
department and its group will be featured in the upcoming Firecorps Resource Guide and in
2006, both will be featured in the Firecorps video which will be made available to fire
departments nationwide. In June 2005, when the national director of Firecorps came to
Arkansas to meet with the department and its Firecorps members the Director referred to
the department’s program as a “model” program.
In December 2005, Dayna, along with Firecorps member, Lori Moon, made a presentation
to the National Fire Corps Advisory Committee and representatives of the USA Freedom
Corps, Citizen Corps, the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA in Washington,
DC. Several heads of key fire service organizations were in attendance.
The presentation showcased the efforts put forth by the FBLA/PBL students of the
University as well as the impact that Johnson County RFD #1’s Firecorps program has had
on the local community. The Deputy Director of Firecorps, Sarah Lee, stated in a letter to
Dr. Rick Niece, President of the University of the Ozarks that the “Johnson County RFD
#1 Firecorps program is truly the epitome of our vision for Firecorps”.
Lori and Dayna were invited to give their presentation on Capitol Hill at the 18th Annual
National Fire and Emergency Services Seminar in April 2006. In attendance at the event
will be Congressional leaders and Administration officials along with fire service leaders.
The group was recently featured in the September issue of FireRescue Magazine which
reaches over 50,300 readers. In the article, former Firecorps Director Shawn Stokes stated,
“Johnson County RFD #1 in Clarksville, Arkansas has a life safety education program that
would put many big-city fire departments to shame.” This is another tribute to the hard work
of the department’s Firecorps members.
Community partnerships have been developed with many different agencies and groups
within the county and state, including the 14 other county fire departments, the Arkansas
Fire Prevention Commission, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Clarksville School System,
civic groups, area businesses, city and county governments and the local university, just to
name a few.
The department has also shared information with other fire departments that have called
throughout the country wanting to learn more about the department’s Firecorps program.
The department and its Firecorps has gone and will continue to go the “extra mile” to help
now and in the future.
In 2004, volunteers donated approximately 100 hours of their time. This year, volunteer
time has already surpassed that mark by over 1569 hours. The group has agreed to help the
department by taking on fire safety programming as a community service project
indefinitely. RFD #1 and Firecorps worked together to develop their strategic plan for 2005-
2006 and this will provide the department with hundreds of volunteer hours enabling the
department to increase its fire safety efforts.
University students helped present three fire safety programs in another county over a
period of three days to almost 800 children (grades K-2), presented six programs to over
500 children over a three day period at the Clarksville Primary School, promoted fire safety
during Campus Fire Safety month, filled goody bags for Fire Prevention Week, worked with
the department’s smoke alarm installation program, and assisted the department in its
evaluation methods by performing critical data entry and data analysis tasks.
The department and its Firecorps sponsored the First Annual Fire Safety Calendar Contest.
The calendar includes a winning fire safety drawing from each grade in Johnson County and
the calendars distributed free of charge.
There were over 800 entries in the 2005 contest thanks to the help and hard work of
Firecorps members.
The department and Firecorps group have also worked together to make Firecorps an
approved State PBL community service project and will be spreading the word about the
addition of Firecorps to Arkansas PBL chapters at the fall conference. Firecorps members
are also working to promote Firecorps at the national PBL level. If this happens, Firecorps
will become a community service project on the national level and departments all across
the country will hopefully benefit from the influx of over 230,000 FBLA/PBL members.
BENEFITS:
• Students are self-motivated and implementing programming on their own.
Firecorps members have become pro-active in helping present programs on their own. The
“Reading with Sparkles Program” helps reinforce fire safety messages by reading fire
safety related books once a week to students at Clarksville Primary School. The program is
implemented and evaluated by Firecorps members.
After Hurricane Katrina, students initiated a picnic for children of evacuees. Members of
Firecorps cooked hamburgers and hotdogs and played games with children, many whom had
not been out of their hotel room for days.
The Recycle Works “Million Pound Event” was yet another event initiated and
implemented by Firecorps members. Students stressed the importance of recycling as
opposed to burning trash in barrels. Outdoor trash container fires are a very serious
problem in Johnson County and the students offered alternative suggestions. They
presented a puppet program, invented a “Recycle Man” mascot and conducted various
other activities at the event.
• Future programming
The department is confident in knowing that it can plan programs for the future and not
have to worry about whether or not that there will be enough people to cover the event.
• Depth
We think of ourselves like a football team. We have plenty of depth and students are cross-
trained to handle any fire safety activity or event.
• Enthusiasm
Audiences relate to the students who bring enthusiasm and excitement to the program
• Expansion of Fire Safety Awareness Parade and Kidsfest Safety Fair
Thanks to Firecorps help with planning and promotion in 2005, the Fire Safety Awareness
Parade and Kidsfest Safety Fair, attendance quadrupled in size over the last years events.
Coalition efforts also improved since the department’s Public Fire and Life Safety Educator
was able to focus more on this aspect of both events.
• Funding
Other organizations, groups and sponsors have come forward to help financially with fire
safety programming. The most recent example of this was the University’s Theatre donated
a portion of their proceeds from a recent production.
FUTURE PLANS:
• Fire Safety Videos
In the Spring of 2006, Firecorps members plan to make their own fire safety videos. The
videos will be available to area schools and at local video stores, where they will be
available rent free.
• Fire Safety Activity Sheets
Age appropriate sheets are in the process of being developed in cooperation with the
department’s Public Fire and Life Safety Educator. These fire safety activity sheets will be
available to schools and as handouts at all fire safety events.
• Fire and Life Safety Education Training
One Firecorps members has become IFSAC certified as Public Fire and Life Safety
Educator I. This Firecorps member is among the first in the state of Arkansas to achieve
this certification in the state of Arkansas.
• Fire School
The department is in the process of developing “Fire School” for its Firecorps members
after several students expressed interest in learning more about firefighting. The class will
be a “hands on” class, and those completing the course will “graduate” Fire School. Most
Firecorps members have expressed interest in attending this training.
• Hispanic fire safety programming
The department’s Fire and Life Safety Educator is working with two Firecorps members on
developing fire safety programming for the county’s fast growing Hispanic population. The
group hopes to begin implementation in the late Spring.
• Certified Firefighters
Two Firecorps members have joined the department as firefighters and are in training.
• Motivating others
The department and its Firecorps members are doing everything possible to assist other
groups and organizations in starting their own Firecorps program. Future presentations
include those to the Arkansas Fire Prevention Commission and the Arkansas Department
of Emergency Management Mid-Year Conference.
In return for Firecorps efforts, the department put a Firecorps logo on our fire safety house,
had a Firecorps trading card a fire safety message on back and had t-shirts made for
members that actively participate in Firecorps activities. The students wear their t-shirts to
all events, and wear them outside of activities to recruit new members to help the
department.
Without this help from Firecorps, the department would have not been able to reach its
goals or the number of target risk groups, that of children and the elderly.
The group has helped the department plan and implement fire safety programming and
activities throughout the year. They are involved in all aspects of the department’s fire
safety programming and their help is vital to the success of the program. Constantly
working to reach as many people as possible, the department’s Firecorps members
represent nine countries, thus able to reach people outside the nation’s boundaries.
RFD #1 Firefighter’s and Firecorps are committed to providing fire safety programs to
those in Johnson County and in Arkansas and is committed to the safety of each of its
firefighters.
