Savannah Fire Among 250 U.S. Fire Departments Participating in National Fire Protection Association Community Risk Reduction Pilot Program

SAVANNAH, GA (Tuesday, April 20, 2021) –  The Savannah Fire Department has been selected by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) to participate in the second phase of a pilot program to build a digital community risk assessment (CRA) tool. The tool, or “dashboard,” enables community leaders to gain valuable insights and make data-informed decisions around fire prevention and other risk-reduction activities in their communities.  It is aligned to the NFPA 1300, Standard on Community Risk Assessment and Community Risk Reduction Plan Development.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for Savannah Fire to help with the development of an important fire risk reduction tool and at the same time, gain insight into the areas of greatest need in our community,” said Savannah Fire Department Research and Planning Chief Jack McCutchen Jr. 

Community risk reduction (CRR) is the process of identifying and prioritizing risks and ensuring impactful mitigation initiatives. The NFPA’s Community Risk Assessment tool works to help fire departments aggregate and disseminate data that pinpoint where fire and accident risks exist within a given community. The first phase of the NFPA pilot project helped identify features of the digital dashboard that work effectively and those that need fine-tuning. During the second phase of the program, Savannah Fire will be among 250 departments nationwide using the dashboard and providing insights to help refine and enhancing its effectiveness. Savannah Fire will have free access to the dashboard, which includes customized maps, charts and graphs that illustrate community risks and hazards across a variety of categories such as demographics, geography, building stock, economics, infrastructure, and event loss history. The dashboard also provides a snapshot of local capacity for risk reduction activities with information about public safety response agencies and community service organizations. In addition to dashboard access, participants will be provided rich networking and professional development opportunities with other communities engaged in CRR.

“Access to accurate data will allow CRR leaders to use insights and make informed decisions about where to focus efforts and resources,” said Karen Berard-Reed, community risk reduction strategist at NFPA. “While many fire departments have struggled to work with data sets, NFPA’s CRA tool will do the complex work behind the scenes to compile relevant data allowing stakeholders to create effective community risk reduction plans that incorporate five priorities - education, engineering, enforcement, economic incentives, and emergency response - in the most impactful ways possible. Participation in this project allows each fire department to provide important feedback that will be used to improve future versions of the dashboard, positions the community among CRR leaders in the United States, and signals an interest in leveraging technology to drive high-quality community safety initiatives.”

For information about community risk reduction efforts in Savannah, Contact Public Information Officer Jenel Few at jfew@savannahga.gov. For details about the NFPA’s community risk reduction program, visit www.nfpa.org/crr or contact NFPA Public Affairs Officer  Lorraine Carli at 617-984-7275.

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