As the Bloomington Fire Department [BFD] continues to enforce fire codes and increase prevention, it also is working to expand offerings of social services and additional fire department resources.
Bloomington Fire Capt. Frank Friend is hoping the department continues to spread the knowledge of its other opportunities. Although, fire prevention is still first and foremost.
Working smoke alarms, two exits out of a home and closing doors at night are some of the most impactful ways to prevent a fatal house fire, according to Friend.
He said none of those were present at the conclusion of what caused a fatal house fire last November that claimed the lives of Tashika Stover, 40, and her 17-year-old son, Hayden.
“Those are all real simple things, and they’re taught to us in kindergarten and along the way in elementary school,” Friend said. “We don’t necessarily pick up those messages again unless we read about them, or somebody like myself brings them to somebody’s attention.”
Friend said BFD wants residents to be aware the department does more than just fire prevention, but it’s hard when only fatal fires get the most attention. For instance, no injuries were reported in a fire on Tracy Drive this month, but 29 individuals were displaced.
“…In various degrees of ages, mobility and some of them lacked a lot of resources, and so we partnered with the American Red Cross to provide for shelter,” he said. “Those things kind of get overlooked when we look at fires, fire prevention, community risk reduction, reducing that impact to people when [fires] do occur.”
At Tracy Drive, Friend said the property had been recently inspected and received maintenance. Furthermore, all smoke alarms were installed, fire doors shut properly and individuals had multiple exits out of the building.
At a rental property, Friend said those are typically the responsibility of the property owner, but not always.
Lasting impact of fires
Friend spent most of his career onboard a fire engine or an ambulance, so he did not see the lasting impacts of fires like he does now.
“When I rode an ambulance or a firetruck, somebody calls 911, we get there in a timely fashion, take care of the immediate problem and then it’s somebody else’s turn to pick up the torch and carry on with the process…” Friend said. “It’s been extremely rewarding to work on this side of the fire department and to minimize that impact on people.
“Making sure they’re staying healthy within their home — whether that be through just a simple connection with somebody to come in and help with medications or to get them resources for cleaning services to avoid hoarding situations — or maybe it’s perhaps that we get some folks in there to help with some isolation issues…”
Friend said all of those make up social determinants of health of an individual which in turn influence the health of the entire community.
Friend is a big supporter of renter’s insurance, sayin it can make the difference between becoming homeless in one day.
“At 2 o’clock in the morning when someone knocks on the door…and tells you the place is on fire and you need to get out, you’re not thinking about taking your birth certificate, your social security card, your extra set of keys, your debit card, your car keys, your cell phone,” he said. “You just get up and leave with whatever you have on.”
Community outreach
BFD already practices community outreach on fire code and regulations to help keep up on education; the kind people receive in elementary school but may forget as adults.
“We did 64 preventative engagements [last year]. Now that could be something from some simple fire truck visits with a small crowd all the way up to mass CPR [training] that we provided to the junior high students out on the football field last may,” he said. “We trained 400 outgoing 8th graders on hands only CPR…as well as 70 volunteers from State Farm all within an hour and a half.”
Friend said that training is important when the department is responding to calls other than fires. Those life safety calls include falls, psychological evaluations and illness.
“We’re looking to not necessarily decrease those call volumes, that’s not really what it’s about. It’s really about reducing the risk and reducing the impact on our community,” he said. “We partner with [Illinois State University's] nursing program and performed a pilot program. We’re going to continue that program this year.”
BFD identified assisted living and nursing home facilities in the Twin Cities with high numbers of falls and were able to provide fall assistance and other resources to help decrease the call volume. The department is also hiring a graduate student from ISU to assist in data collection and resource outreach.
“About 50% of the calls we receive could use some type of social service, wrap around service or follow-up service,” Friend said. “Whether that be help with medications or help with installing a grab bar, doing a life safety assessment where we take a look around and make sure that things are safe for folks…”
Friend said service outreach is something the department is looking to improve upon; it can sometimes be a big task for them to undertake. He said the push for the services, which is part of a national trend, can help people to age in place, remaining in their homes instead of moving into assisted living.
