In the current times we live in we seem to go from one crisis to another—from pandemics and climate change to civil unrest and terrorism—and with catastrophic fires and fire deaths being an ever-present danger. Our fire departments continue to be challenged by the limitations of available personnel, increasing call volumes, limited budgets, as well as the lack of other basic resources. Community Risk Reduction (CRR) programs provide the potential to make the greatest impact on our communities and our firefighters’ safety.
As defined by Vision 20/20 project and NFPA 1300, the Standard on Community Risk Assessment and Community Risk Reduction Plan Development.
“CRR is a process to identify and prioritize local risks, followed by the integrated and strategic investment of resources to reduce their occurrence and impact.”
CRR is more than just fire safety. Just as the fire service is much more than just responding to fires, CRR is more than establishing a team or renaming your fire prevention programs. Effective CRR programs can help us tackle a wide range of issues facing our community and affecting our quality of life.
Over the last several years the division has been working with several national partners to develop CRR programs in Vermont. Thew this leading-edge statewide CRR initiative, we are working to build local programs and provide technical assistance to individual communities and the agencies that reside in those communities to develop and build an individualized long term community risk reduction program.
Contact the DFS Public Education and Information Section to Request Assistance in building your local CRR program.
RESOURCES
VT-CRR Local Program Development Getting Ready Worksheet
