Public Education
The overall objective of the Public Education Division is to encourage the members of our community to practice fire safety and to protect themselves and their families from the dangers of fires.
The Public Education Officer, with additional support from the firefighters from the Fire Operations Division and fire inspectors from the Fire Prevention Bureau, provides safety awareness classes to public and private schools, child daycare centers, youth summer camps, businesses, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and other special groups within our community. Current public safety education includes the following:
Fire Extinguisher Training
Fire Extinguisher Classes - Learn the Basics to be Prepared
Fire extinguishers are designed to fight different types of fires. Learn how how you can use the fire extinguisher at your workplace or home to prevent the unthinkable fire that could easily get out of control.
When you see a small fire, make sure to dial 911 and evacuate people from the room prior to using the fire extinguisher. If you see a room fully engulfed in flames, close the door behind you and immediately dial 911. Keep in mind that fire extinguishers are useful for small fires only.
North Naples Fire Prevention Bureau has highly trained instructors to teach hands-on classes in how to use fire extinguishers properly, both through the Community Emergency Response Team classes, and through classes at local businesses.
Please call Pat Browne at 597-3222 for more information regarding class registration.
CPR Training
A CPR class can provide you with life saving skills, including the Heimlich maneuver. These skills can help you, your friends and your loved ones if you find yourself or others in an emergency situation.
CPR is an artificial method of circulating blood and oxygen through the body in order to keep the brain alive. CPR does work. When initiated within four minutes, the survival rate is 43%. When initiated within four to eight minutes, the survival rate is 10%.
Why Learn CPR?
- One in seven people will have the opportunity to use CPR in their lifetime.
- More than 650,000 people die annually from heart attacks in the United States each year.
- More than 350,000 die before reaching the hospital. When the brain starts to go four to six minutes without oxygen, brain damage/death begins.
- In the United States, there are 500,000 strokes a year.
- In the United States, there are 6,000 drowning incidents a year and 3,100 incidents of airway obstructions a year.
Call 597-3222 for more information or contact one of the following Certified Instructors directly:
James Cunningham 239-825-8075 || Jodi Van Sickle 239-293-5512
High Rise Safety for Managers, Owners, Employees and Residents
Ask yourself these questions to assure a safe environment for your residents and staff:
- Do you have a fire evacuation plan in case of an emergency?
- Is your plan approved by North Naples Fire Prevention Bureau Team?
- Are these plans shared with employees and residents of your building on a regular basis?
- Can your building be evacuated without interfering with arriving firefighters?
- Are there areas of safe refuge in your building for a lateral evacuation?
- Are there options available for residents with disabilities such as stair chairs?
- If a fire starts, will it be detected properly? How?
- What are your procedures for contacting 9-1-1? Are instructions understood by staff?
- Is there a provision for heating, air conditioning, and smoke control in your building?
- Is there an emergency communications system in place? Overhead enunciator? Radios?
- Does the building have area or floor wardens trained in handling emergencies?
- Are fire extinguishers, emergency exit lights, fire pumps and emergency generators ready to use if needed?
- Are all exit doors clear and free from obstructions?
- Will security measures such as locking doors interfere with evacuating residents or arriving firefighters?
- Is the Pre-planning Office aware of your floor plans or changes to your building?
If you are not sure how to answer these questions, please call 597-9227 to schedule a free High Rise Evacuation Class for your staff or residents. Curriculum developed through the National Fire Protection Association and North Naples Fire Prevention Team, will prepare your high rise community for emergency evacuations.
Juvenile Fire Setter Program
The Fire Prevention Bureau participates in offering a county wide Juvenile Fire Setter program. The program is currently a team effort, among several of the county's Fire Districts working interdependently with representatives from mental health agencies, the health care community, local schools, local law enforcement, and social services.
The goal of the program is to reduce the number of repeat fire setting by children. The Fire Prevention Bureau not only supports the NFPA Juvenile Fire setter program but is dedicated to improving it.
Crowd Manager
In 2009, as a result of a change to NFPA 101 Life Safety Code, Chapter 12.7.6.1 and 13.7.6.1, the Fire Prevention Bureau developed and instituted a crowd management course for community businesses now required to provide an employee with such a designation. The change to the above referenced safety code decreased the number of people requiring trained crowd managers from 1,000 to 50, in such identified "assemblies". This program has been highly successful among the businesses within the District, and has provided valuable training and certification to over four hundred employees of these entities regarding crowd management practices within the District.