Community fire safety advocates oftentimes hear people say: 'It will never happen to me" This can be frustrating and discouraging, but there are proven methods to reach people and impact their perception of fire risk.
Research conducted in the UK and compiled in a report titled, "Understanding People's Attitudes About Fire Risk" studied the attitudes of groups vulnerable to fire risk and the impact that community safety advocates can have on these attitudes. The key lies in getting the message out there; and repeated with sufficient frequency to maintain awareness to the problem.
According to the research, "the perception of fire risk is influenced by the extent to which fire is cited in the media." A high level of media coverage may influence the perception of risk for people who have not experienced a fire.
Media coverage of real events may make it easier for people to imaginge what can happen and increases their perceived likelihood that it will happen to them. News of fatal fires increase emotional responses resulting in increased perception that it does impose a risk of death.
Fire in the home can happen to anyone, at any time, but most people have the misleading notion that they are not at risk because it has not yet happened to them or to people they know. Communication needs to make people understand that their personal experience may mislead them into a false sense of security.
Remember that to educate the community and impact the perception of fire risk:
• Real life stories need to be publicized
• Media coverage aimed at raising awareness of risk needs to be repeated often
• Messages need to empower people to take action
If we are to influence the community to understand the need for residential fire sprinklers we need to increase media actitvities that elevate the perception of fire risk. We need to continously publicize home fires that ocurr in the community, or neighboring communities, throughout the year. Stories of sucessful sprinkler activations contributing to the saving of lives and property need to be featured.
According to the research, fire safety advocates also need to identify key partners to work with in different sections of the community. These partners can assist in creating awareness and influencing policy makers to the need of residential fire sprinkler systems.
So it remains with us safety advocates to make sure that the perception of risk is understood by people so that they will demand fire sprinkler systems in their homes.
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