Wauconda Fire Department Public Education Programs and Public Relations Tools

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Wauconda Fire Department Public Education
Programs and Public Relations Tools
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Station Tours

• Quick and easy
• Inexpensive
• Target multiple topics in short time period
• Fun for kids
• Adults are a secondary audience

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Station Tours

• Age appropriate video
• Reiterate fire safety messages
• Tour station (Radio room, FPB, Day room, Bunk
  room)
• To the bays

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Block Parties

• 1/2-1 hour
• Inexpensive
• Target multiple topics in short time period
• Fun for adults and kids
• PR to adults is at extreme level

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Block Parties

• If possible, show up on time
• Calls take priority
• Park vehicle in an area accessible to public
• Open compartments up
• Discuss fire safety while showing equipment

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Home Inspection Program

• Slightly more time consuming
• Inexpensive
• Target specific hazards in specific area
• Not as fun, more of a serious program
• Requires tact

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Home Inspection Program

• Make appointment
• Clean shoes/boots before entering
• Follow checklist
• Point out hazards and offer methods to correct
  tbem
• SELL the fire safety ideas!

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CPR/First Aid

• Our most active program
• Targets teen age to senior citizens
• Cost is increased
• Requires specialty instruction

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CPR/First Aid

• Barb does registration
• Al Weaver is in charge of the program
• 10 refundable deposit for students
• No show, no dough
• Instructor schedules class dates

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Sleep Over Program

• 12 hours (6 PM-6 AM)
• Targets small group of children (1-3)
• Full time Straight time
• POC Hourly rate or Duty Shift
• Great PR tool
• Future firefighters???

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Sleep Over Program

• Costs 5 per person (3 kids, 1 adult)
• Pizza for dinner
• Fire Safety Video
• Tour of station
• Tour dispatch center
• Tour Station 2
• Fire safety messages throughout

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Birthday Party Program

• 2 hours
• Extended tour
• 1st hour Fire Safety
• 2nd hour Cake, ice cream, presents
• We are not babysitters! Adult supervision must
  be provided!

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Birthday Party Program

• FT Straight time
• POC hourly rate
• SOPs are in book
• LPs are in book

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Parades

• Shows off our equipment
• Targets all ages
• Community participation pride in department
• Ownership gives the warm fuzzies
• PR more than Pub Ed
• Easy, short time frame, inexpensive

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Preschool Program (3 year old)

• Scheduled
• Story time- Read Beeping Ben
• Patience is important
• Must repeat message many times

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Preschool Program (3 year old)

• Get out, stay out
• Stop, Drop, and roll
• 911 (what is an emergency)
• Limit number of topics, repeat them!
• Explain, demonstrate, witness

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Preschool Program (4 year old)

• Billy Bob Glade his guitar pickin friends
• Learn not to burn program (NFPA)
• Jim Post songs
• Cassette given to preschool in advance
• Kids learn songs
• Sing along
• Firefighter puts on turn out gear

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Kindergarten

• Fire Prevention Week
• Firefighter in gear, 2nd FF gives talk
• SCBA and breathing air, enter room
• Joke with the kids (Avoid scaring them)
• Take off gear

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Kindergarten

• Weakness in our school programs
• Young children require repeated messages
• Once a year does not allow for retention of
  message
• Working on this for next year!

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First Grade

• FPW Puppet show
• Next year we plan on adding Risk Watch to first
  grade
• FUN AGE!

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Second Grade

• Safety Always Matters program
• Monthly visits to the classroom
• 1/2 hour per visit
• Follow up to the topic that was taught by the
  teacher

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Third Grade

• Risk Watch by NFPA
• 8 safety topics determined by survey of ERs and
  coroners offices
• Coalition approach
• 1/2 hour per visit
• Monthly visits, not all by FF
• Follow up to topic taught by teachers

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Fourth Grade

• Safety Always Matters program
• Monthly visit to classroom
• 1/2 hour per visit
• Advance level
• Follow up to topic taught by teacher

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Fifth Grade

• Risk Watch by NFPA
• 8 safety topics
• coalition approach
• 1/2 hour, monthly visit
• Follow up to topic taught by teachers

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Sixth Grade

• Make shift programs
• Definite area of need
• Kim Williams is working on it!

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Seventh Grade

• Risk Watch
• 8 safety topics
• Coalition approach
• 1/2 hour, monthly visits
• Follow up to topics taught by teacher

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Eighth Grade

• Chemistry of Fire
• Works through science program
• Shows cause and effect!
• Great program

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High School

• Drivers Ed Program
• Mark Abernathy teaches in classes
• Tough age-know everything
• Classes rotate, new kids

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Water/Ice safety

• Ice program created in 1997 by Mike Wahl
• Every NBS student attended
• Incident projected need
• School requested!!!

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Public Relations
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Newsletters

• Fire safety information sent
• Upcoming activities
• Reaches a large percentage of public
• Library, villages, park districts, etc.

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Newspapers

• Daily Herald
• Covers entire area, we compete with other
  agencies
• Incidents are their first interest
• Daily deadlines
• Your Page information

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Newspapers

• Northwest Herald
• Covers McHenry County and us
• Incidents are their first concern
• Daily deadlines
• Neighbor section, weekly pull out

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Newspapers

• Chicago Tribune
• Lake county/McHenry county bureaus
• Need info ASAP
• Incidents are their main interest
• Occasionally will show up for training
• Looking for the BIG story
• Daily deadlines

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Newspapers

• Chicago Sun Times
• Rarely prints our PSAs
• Wants calls only
• Looking for major incidents
• Daily deadlines

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Newspapers

• Pioneer Press
• Monthly safety column
• I need writers!
• Cover upcoming events as well as incidents
• Weekly deadlines
• Covers Wauconda, Lake Zurich, Island Lake
• Barrington issue covers Tower Lakes, N.
  Barrington, etc.
• Part time reporters right now!

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Newspapers

• Lakeland
• Spencer Schein is our reporter
• Supporter of fire department
• Prints most of our PSAs
• Covers Wauconda, Island Lake only
• Weekly deadlines
• Will take photos from us for print

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Radio

• 105.5 FM
• Crystal Lake
• Local news
• PSAs regularly
• Rolling Radio

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Radio

• 102.3 FM
• Waukegan
• Local news
• PSAs regularly
• Invites our people to make guest appearances

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Radio

• We currently have 33 radio stations that we issue
  releases to. They cover the entire Chicagoland
  area. We try to target the listeners with age
  appropriate info (101.1 FM we dont send senior
  safety info to).

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Television

• We have built up numerous contacts in the Chicago
  television markets. CLTV, WGN, WMAQ, WBBM, FOX
  and WLS regularly receive video footage from
  freelance video (Mike Meinhardt). TV wants video
  footage more than anything else. The story can be
  great, but the footage is what they are
  interested in.

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Media Release

• Be prepared
• Have notes/information readily available
• Props are big sellers
• Think before you talk
• WFD has a very liberal policy
• Know what you can and cannot release
• Fires Talk to your investigator before releasing
  cause!

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Media Release

• Phone interviews
• Take your time
• Phone in a quiet area
• Personal interviews
• Uniform
• Quiet area
• Engine or truck makes good background for fires
• MICU makes good background for 10-50s, etc.

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Media Release

• Who
• What
• Where
• When
• Why
• How

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Media Release

• Fax vs. mail
• Photographs
• Weekends and nights

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Media Release

• Why do we talk to the media?
• What happens if we dont?
• How to be successful...

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Thank you and have a nice day!