Fire Safety Awareness Program for Children - Essay Example

Fire Safety Awareness Program for Children AFFILIATION: Fire safety awareness program for children Introduction Fire, if blows up in a place, can cause deaths and injuries or damage to property and assets. It is commonly said that the best time to think about the destruction caused by it and the ways to prevent its consequences is before a fire starts. Hence, fire safety is an important component of the building safety. The term ‘Fire safety’ encompasses the precautionary measures that trim down the possibility of fire. Fire safety measures also include the programs that make residents and occupants of a place aware about the destruction that can result by a fire hazard. The measures are taken care of during the design and construction process of a building, or if the assembly is already constructed, they are incorporated into it. An important module of the fire safety measures is creation of awareness among the masses specially children. Statistics presented by the fire brigade fire investigation unit New South Wales show that 3000 fire accidents affect children annually and out of these, nearly 10 percent of the fires are lighted by the children themselves. Generally fire prevention officers are responsible for keeping the check on buildings and making people alert about the expected hazard. The text presents an evaluation of the fire hazards, how can they be communicated to the children, what will be the challenges involved and how can they be overcome etc. Moreover, the report also covers the recruitment process for the employees and the evaluation of the adopted practice. In a nutshell, the report examines the implementation and assessment of the child safety awareness program comprehensively. Recruitment of staff Failure in the recruitment of eligible and competent staff not only effects the functioning due to inappropriate levels of skills but also has an adverse outcome on the profitability of a firm. Recruiting employees does not only include the selection of the candidates but it is the complex and widespread process involving the decision making and planning capabilities of the management to select and employ the best and apposite workforce. Skills required for different jobs differ from one another. For example, a lower or line manager should be a good team player and during recruitment of a person for such a job, managers must look into the candidates whether they are team players or not. However, the selection and employment of the appropriate personnel is not the end to the recruitment process. It also goes on to the training and retention of the staff members so that they contribute positively to the progress of the organization. In spite of the well structured criteria and efficient planning behind the choice of a candidate, organizations face hurdles and problems in implementing the principles. The human resource management theories do provide the guiding principles and approaches for the best recruitment, yet organizations need to have specific and specialized methods for employee selection. Hence, the recruitment procedure for the program of fire safety awareness among children of primary standards is also specialized to meet the requirements of the position. Recruitment process is a step by step process that involves the following steps: 1. Preparation of the job description: The job description of the employee performing the function will have the purpose communicated clearly. The purpose is to alert and train the primary school children about the damages of fire and how to behave and save their life if such incident occurs. The next step in the job description is the scope and responsibilities associated with the job. The candidate must have the knowledge about the fire prevention techniques and methods as well as the command over how to communicate with and train individuals (especially children). The required skills involve effective communication, public speaking skills and team player skills. The JD must clearly convey the timings and conditions for the work, working hours and travelling involved. 2. Finding candidates: There are several methods practiced for finding the appropriate candidates for a post (advertising, word of mouth, redeployment and taking help of agencies etc.) However, in the case under consideration, the best practice would be to take the help of agencies like fire fighters etc. Since the job requires high degree of skills and knowledge about the fire safety, specialized persons must be employed to ensure the flawless work. After the candidates are found and applications are received, the short listing of the applicants for the interview must be done. 3. Selection: The selection of the candidates can be done through many ways. Organizations conduct interviews, assessment exams psychological testing etc. as required by the job or position. For a fire safety awareness program, the most appropriate practice is to adopt several methods to get the best possible employee. The first step can be the conduction of interviews for the short listed candidates. The interview must cater all the dimensions that are necessary to be assessed. Apart from considering the knowledge about the fire safety awareness, presentation and communicating skills of the candidate must be taken care off. Since the JD requires the worker to educate the children of primary school, it is necessary for them to use language and terms understandable by them. Their style and techniques must be appropriate to instruct the kids. For this purpose, the candidates must be asked to present in front of the interview panel. This will assess their presentation skills. Moreover, the children ask too many questions and do not accept a thing if it does not satisfy them. The patience level of the candidate must be tested. The program can be pursued at the town level initially. However, a high success rate can be helpful in practicing it at a broader scale. Initially, the selected candidates can be employed on contract basis. Afterwards, if they prove to be efficient and don’t have a problem in travelling to different regions, they can be hired permanently and sent to different parts of the country. Other resources required: It is true that competent and efficient workforce is important for perfect execution of a task. However, an obstacle to the expression of capabilities of employees is the unavailability of the proper and adequate resources. An accountant cannot perform its task efficiently if he is not provided with the best software to prepare electronic ledgers and financial statements. To execute the plan of a fire safety awareness program, certain other resources are mandatory. Below is the list of all the resources required and their functions in the program: 1. Computer systems: At the central point of the office of the organization. Computer systems must be present with the database that can handle information regarding the employees involved; their locations etc. besides, this database will also have the list of the schools in a certain geographical area. This database will help in allocating schools to employees according to their location as well as keeping record about the schools that have been visited by the employees. Hence, a proper and systematic progress can be achieved. 2. Transport and conveyance: Since the employees will have to go in schools in teams, they must be provided with the transport facility from the office to the respective schools. However, it should be made clear to all the employees that from their residences to the office, they will not be provided with any transport facility and have to arrange on their own. 3. Equipment for presentation: To conduct presentation session, required equipment (laptops etc.) must be supplied. Since the target audience is the children of primary standard, they must be provided with the story books or the visual aids. 4. Equipment to aid the presentation: Furthermore, the children must be educated with the demos and videos. Moreover, a few of them should be selected and are asked to practically execute various ways to prevent or save a life when they are caught in a fire. For this purpose, certain special equipment like fire extinguishers, blankets etc are needed to demonstrate practical usage. The above mentioned components are essential for a comprehensive awareness program and its conduction. All these resources require one time investment until the program is thought to be taken to a next level. If a cost benefit analysis is conducted, the costs are definitely much lesser than the benefits. Though the benefits cannot be measured exactly like the costs in monetary terms, however the consequences of increased awareness can be witnessed in long term as a decrease in the number of fire accidents resulting in the deaths of individuals particularly children. Moreover, the costs can further be lessened by collaborating with any of the renowned non-profit organizations that work for the welfare of the people. This would also help in attracting more students since a popular name will be attached with the campaign. Moreover a popular celebrity can also be endorsed to further enhance the effectiveness of the program as the public figures are highly aspired and their opinions are acknowledged. Aims, objectives and their evaluation: An important characteristic of the performance base fire safety awareness program is the presence of realistic objectives or aim to work upon. While setting up the objectives, certain ideas are put forward to give alternative aims and to provide ways for assessing them. An objective must be SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely). This requires moving a step ahead from the vague and unclear views and talking more in a specific sense. The choice of the right objective is a crucial matter as agreeing upon a wrong objective means tackling a wrong problem. Therefore, in order to perform rational actions, decision makers must know what they want to achieve. Furthermore, specifying the objective also supports its evaluation. Even if certain number of alternatives lead to the same results, it is better to specify. Specification leads to better elucidation of aims and hence better criteria for the evaluation are available. The objectives of the programs can be categorized under two heads. The description of the two groups is presented in the following text; Narrow or machine-gun goals: This category involves the aims of the project that can easily be assessed and measured on the spot after the program is conducted in a particular school or community. The group consists of the awareness about the methods to prevent the fire, to escape if a person is trapped in the fire, to use various appliances for fire extinguishing etc. Since all these things can be practically demonstrated, their understanding can be measured and evaluated also. Thus narrow or machinegun goals fit into the definition of the SMART objectives. The demonstration can be done through visuals or graphics and the learning can be evaluated by asking questions from the audience or by making them perform specific tasks like usage of appliances etc. Hence, the percentage of correct answers and responses can be recorded and effective results can be obtained afterwards. This will also assist in improving the methods of presentation and instructions of the team. Certain areas that week and need to be better can be identified and thus worked upon. Long-term objectives: Under the head of Long-term goals are the objectives that cannot be measured easily and on the spot and their result cannot be quantified easily. For instance, the goal of educating all the children in a town about the fire safety cannot be achieved at once or in a shorter period of time. Furthermore, its assessment also requires years to pass to see the effect. The results can be observed in the form of reduced figures of fire accidents in the upcoming years. Moreover, when these young children will grow up, the training and education of the early childhood will prove to be beneficial. Conclusion: Fire safety awareness is necessary to make the lives of the people safer and protected from the hazards of fire. Such awareness can be created in adults by conducting seminars and workshops. However, when children of primary grades are concerned, a new and detailed method of instructions is necessary. They must be educated in a way that they understand the importance of the matter. To start with such a program, the first and foremost requirement is to employ the staff that is skilled and knowledgeable and can do the job in appropriate way. However, the recruitment of such employees is an important phase that must be taken care off. The recruitment starts with the preparation of a job description and ends with the retention and training of the chosen employees. For the safety awareness program, the candidates should be attracted by the help of agencies that already have fire safety engineers working with them and those that offer their services for the recruitment process. The short listing of the applicants is followed by a selection process that must involve an interview about the professional knowledge, communication skills and emotional control. Besides human resource, other resources are also required to make this program work in an excellent way. Resources such as databases, presentation aiding tools and transport and conveyance etc. are necessary for the proper working of the program planned. Furthermore, another important feature is the objective of the fire safety awareness program which can be categorized into long-term and narrow focused objectives. Both of them are measureable but the difference lies in the time requires for their evaluation. The fire safety measures taught to the children today will result in the informed citizens of tomorrow and a decline in the fire accidents rate. References: Anonymous. (2006, June 22). HRM: methods of recruitment and selection. Retrieved July 6, 2010, from Papers For You: http://www.coursework4you.co.uk/sprthrm18.htm City of Retention/education programs|Community risk Reduction (2010). Retrieved July 21, 2010, from http://rentonwa.gov/living/default.aspx?id=654. D Jaslow, J. U. (2005). Fire safety knowledge and practices among residents of an assisted living facility. Jakubowski G. Prehosp Disaster Med. D.E.Terpstra. (199554). HRM: A Key to Competitiveness Management Decision. 10-14. HARDY, M. (1996). A Firearm Safety Program for Children: They Just Cant Say No. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics . Jones Chapman, S. D. (2006). Recruiting Through Job Advertisements: The Effects of Cognitive Elaboration on Decision Making. 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Appendix A British Standards Institution (British Standards) BS 476: Fire tests on building materials and structures Part 6: 1989 Method of test for fire propagation for products Part 20: 1987 Method for determination of the fire resistance of elements of construction (general principles) Part 21: 1987 Methods for determination of the fire resistance of load bearing elements of construction Part 22: 1987 Methods for determination of the fire resistance of non-load bearing elements of construction Part 23: 1987 Methods for determination of the contribution of components to the fire resistance of a structure Part 24: 1987 Method for determination of the fire resistance of ventilation ducts BS 5588 Fire precautions in the design, construction and use of buildings Part 8: 1988 Code of practice for means of escape for disabled people BS 5839: Fire detection and alarm systems for buildings Part 1: 1988 Code of practice for system design, installation and servicing Part 6: 1995 Code of practice for the design and installation of fire detection and alarm systems in dwellings Appendix Source: www.fbu.org.uk/workplace/ipds/pdf/rolemap_doc.pdf Read More