Fire Safe San Mateo News
NFPA Report Outlines Roles for Youth in Reducing Wildfire Risk
The NFPA's Wildland Fire Operations Division's recently released a report titled Engaging Youth in Reducing Wildfire Risk. Their blog examines why middle and high school students can and should have a role in reducing wildfire risk in the communities where they live. The report looks at existing programs throughout the country, youth preparedness research, findings from a series of six interactive workshops with students living in areas impacted by wildfire and a questionnaire distributed to teachers in four communities that recently experienced a wildland fire event.
Currently, there is no nationwide wildland fire education program that focuses exclusively on impacting youth behaviors and attitudes as they relate to prevention, preparedness, and mitigation. There's a multitude of excellent programs that target environmental education topics with brief information on wildfire mitigation, and a few that do a good job of tying in multiple components; but most don't address the science of the home ignition zone and the work that can positively impact a home's chances of survivability.
