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Question and Answer Transcript
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Multiculturalism and the Fire Service Webinar The Home Safety Council would like to thank everyone for their participation in the Multiculturalism and the Fire Service Webinar and for sending in such thought- provoking questions. Included below is a transcript of the questions submitted during the presentation and responses provided by the presenters. Responses from Larry Sagen are denoted with his initials “LS” and Meri-K Appy’s responses are identified by her initials “MK”. If you have questions or would like any additional information regarding the discussion below, please email info@homesafetycouncil.org and a response will be sent back to you. Q: Is awareness a critical issue? Seems like a high percentage of emergency responders may be over-confident in their ability to communicate effectively with those of diverse cultures. A: LS – I don’t mean to be flip. First responders who are more aware appreciate the importance of the awareness you refer to than first responders who are less aware. Awareness can be taught. I’d love to see cultural competencies as part of all recruit schools and fire academies. An effective way to teach it is to bring in people from the multicultural community. Video is also a good way to convey awareness issues. I think that some of the video interviews we shot for the research study might help. (http://www.fire2020.org/MHSRPReportOnline/Frames/videos.html) They provide insights from firefighters, paramedics and civilians. Q: May we have more information about "The Language Line?" A: LS – Greg Holt who was on the call works with Language Line Services and offered to be a resource. His contact information is provided below. Additional information on the Language Line is also available online at: http://www.languageline.com.
Greg Holt
Q: I am wondering if you have looked at issues in regards to a possible Pandemic Flu? Example: Masks are recommended but the Burmese community does not like to have anything against a face. Any materials available towards this? A: LS – Great question. Unfortunately I don’t have an answer, but my suggestion would be to convene a Burmese group and ask them. It would also be an opportunity to find out about other multicultural fire and life safety issues within their community. A good place to start might be through a public health organization or social service organization. Q: Many in the public safety field view mandatory "Cultural Diversity" training as a program to force them to be tolerant and accepting of cultures and lifestyles that may be unacceptable to them instead of viewing it as a tool to make their job safer... and easier. Was this an issue identified by your research? A: LS – Yes. It came out with both culture (this is America and people should speak English and do things our way) and with sexual identity/lifestyle issues. Check out the videos (http://www.fire2020.org/MHSRPReportOnline/Frames/videos.html). There are some good tips and stories in the customer service, community relations and multicultural capacity video clips. As I mentioned on the call, we heard over and over again that mandatory Diversity Training doesn’t work for people who need it the most. (By the way, this goes way beyond the public safety field.) As I said during the Webinar, multicultural represents many cultures, not just race, gender, etc. One of the big learnings for me during the research was that there is a “Fire Culture”. Yes, a cultural group unto itself! And cultures don’t like to change. The mindset of many first responders is “just give me what I need to mitigate the emergency. My personal opinions and values don’t matter. I’m here to do my job. In an emergency, I treat everyone equally.” The issue is that everyone is not the same, and not respecting differences is the root of the problem. A thought, FIRE 20/20 has gotten away from the “Diversity conversation” and we have been talking more about “Cultural Competency.” If we can frame it in terms of customer service and safety it’s a less threatening conversation and something most first responders can relate to. My personal opinion is that we need to begin to teach cultural competency in Recruit School. One suggestion is to bring people in from the community to talk about multicultural issues. Q: Has anyone developed smoke or carbon monoxide alarm use materials for Somali families? A: MK: One of the Webinar attendees is a longtime colleague, now retired from the Sioux Falls, SD, Fire Department and working as Executive Director of the Sioux Empire Safety Village. They have created a fire safety booklet and translated it into 15 different languages, along with a DVD called Fire Safety in Your Home, also translated into 15 languages. The organization is selling the entire set for $250. I recently received a set of the materials and noticed one of the brochures is in Somali.
Dave has offered to be a resource for those interested in learning more about programs for the Somali community.
David A. Renli Q: Should we be advising people to go "back in" to put out a fire? A: MK – HSC’s answer is No! We strongly advise against going back inside a burning building for any reason. “Once out, Stay out!” Call 911 and let those who are trained and equipped handle any needed rescue operation. Of course, this is a lot to ask of someone who may have a loved one trapped inside. That’s why we need more prevention and education outreach for diverse audiences, so people plan and practice the drills that will help everyone in the home get to safety fast. Or better yet, prevent the fire from happening in the first place! Installing fire sprinklers in homes across America will control or even put out fires, helping save precious lives and property. Q: What methods do you suggest in getting video messages to the community in their own language? A: LS – Most communities have public access or city cable channels that can produce materials for free. It all starts with relationships with different target community groups. Dialogue and relationship have become my mantras. I’m sure that people from different groups would be more than happy to co-produce and serve as spokespeople in their native language if they understand that it can save lives and property. One possibility is to tie our fire and life safety education messages to campaigns that are already happening. For example, I mentioned the Chinese focus groups suggested that a smoke alarm program would go better around the time of the Chinese New Year. The Chinese community might be putting together a video PSA about something that you can tag along with or be part of. I love video. It’s also important to understand that some age groups and cultural groups may listen to foreign language radio and that might be a better mass medium. Again, the different groups can tell you the best way to reach members of their community. Q: How do hospitals deal with multi-cultural communications? A: LS – I don’t know that there are any consistent ways of dealing with this problem. FIRE 20/20’s focus has been with the Fire Service on this research study and I haven’t looked into the health community. Good question, it would be a great research study. There are a lot of good things going on in other fields that we can learn from. My opinion is that many FDs don’t see the connection between language/communication and safely and effectively serving their customers. If we see multi-cultural communications as a “priority” we’ll begin to recruit and hire for multilingual abilities. This includes American Sign. Q: Thank you for your presentation, it is quite timely. I am actually coordinating a training session with our local immigration and refugee service for interested fire personnel on working with other cultures. Can you provide some ideas on planning this? A: LS – A great great opportunity. -Rule 1: Food. Get some ethnic food from some of the cultures that are being represented. -It would be great to invite some of the clients of the social service agencies as well. If you do this you may need a translator and a facilitator. That slows down the meeting, but shows people you are REALLY committed. -If you have immigrant or refugee clients attending, FD personnel should consider not going in uniform. Austin FD told a great story about when they were helping out with Katrina refugees, many of whom had a lot of disdain for police and government officials. One of their chiefs suggested that they not wear their uniforms when they helped out at the Astro Dome and it made a big difference. -Hold the meeting in a safe and culturally respectful place. If immigrant/refugee clients attend, City Hall or a fire station may be intimidating for immigrants and refugees. -Consider that you’re creating an opportunity for two-way learning. Both groups can learn from one another. -Bring some fun firefighting or EMS equipment that they can learn about. We often concluded our focus groups with participants dressing up in turnouts and an air pack. Sometimes the FD brought an engine and invited people to sit inside. -Feel free to give me a call. I’d like to learn more about which groups and the department’s history with those communities. Congrats. This is a fabulous first step. Q: Have any of the focal groups who work with children in schools tried inviting parents & grandparents to participate in a program rewarding the children's safety learning? This may be a way to reach more adults by using the children. A: LS – We didn’t hear of anything like this in the three cities, but it’s a fabulous idea. Please let me know how it works. We’re creating a knowledge base of best practice community partnership programs. I’d love to include this. MK – I agree this is a great strategy. In the Home Safety Literacy Project, the Plano Fire Department worked through their school system’s Even Start program to provide appropriate fire safety lessons to adult learners and their children. The team then hosted an event where the families worked together in a guided setting to map out their individual escape plans. Lt. Peggy Harrell is a great resource to learn more about this: Peggyha@plano.gov Q: What resource would you recommend for getting more information about cultural perspectives on death, dying and grief? A: LS – Hospitals, faith community, Coroner’s office, and social service agencies that work with your target populations. This is where I wish the Fire Service was more diverse and better represented the communities we serve. We could be informing and educating one another. You could consider holding a half-day session with different speakers from the different organizations. If you do, please videotape it. We’d love to include the video in our Community Partnership Best Practices Knowledgebase. Q: Hello! I missed the point of getting fire departments involved with the homeless population. Can this be mentioned again? Thank you! A: LS – The Homeless Focus Group in Austin suggested that a firefighter participate on their homeless taskforce. It’s important for the FD to reach out and take the initiative. The shelter social worker suggested that the FD come to learn from the homeless population about their needs rather than come in with a “pat” program. Go in to learn, not just to sell. Again, I can’t stress enough, it all starts with relationship and dialogue. Q: Do you have any advice about the use of candles for religious purposes and fire prevention? A: LS – As I mentioned, one of the community focus group members suggested working with the faith community. They are trusted in their respective communities and all have an investment in keeping their people safe and healthy. Most communities have church councils. That would be a good place to start. I’m sure that you could get on an agenda. Create a candle program WITH the faith leaders that they can “preach”. Educate the priests, ministers, rabbis, monks and imams. One of the Hispanic focus group members proposed to her Priest that people put their candles in a bowl of water. That way if they tip over, they’ll just go out. The priest took it on as a campaign and preached it at the services. For Christians and Jews, the holidays are a good time for this. One of the imams told us that the Koran preaches preservation of life and that fire safety is about preservation of life. Ramadan is a good time for the imams to talk about this at the Mosques. Q: Our department recently organized a diversity committee, and we are tasked with getting a more diverse fire department. Where can we go to get info to assist with the process instead of recreating the wheel? A: LS – No one has really found “the answer” to this question. Leadership, leadership, leadership. Does leadership see the value proposition of having a more diverse department? It’s a combination of making your department a safe and welcoming place for people who are different or think differently. Based on our research study, I’d say the most effective multicultural recruitment strategy is an effective, multicultural, community-based fire and life safety outreach program. My recommendation is to invite members of the diverse community to sit on your committee. I’m happy to talk more with you about this. Q: How can we team up with the Home Safety Council and those of us with the faith community nurses/parish nurses? A: MK – Let’s talk! I’d need a bit more information about how faith community nurses and parish nurses do their work in the community. Perhaps you could take advantage of the free materials available through the Expert Network to run a small pilot in your own community, then report what you did and how you did it for us to share with EN members who might replicate this strategy in their own communities. Q: Will this presentation be part of the post-conference materials package? A: MK – Yes, a copy of the Power Point presentation and all materials related to the Webinar will be posted online and available from the Home Safety Council’s archived Webinars page at: www.homesafetycouncil.org/expertnetworkwebinars_archive. Q: Can we get the websites so we can check them out later? A: MK – Yes, the websites referenced in the presentation will also be listed on the archived Webinar page. Please visit www.homesafetycouncil.org/expertnetworkwebinars_archive and click on the link to the November Webinar to access all information and materials related to this presentation. Comments and Suggestions Can you be more specific about the frustration? I'm from Language Line (not part of AT&T since 1999), and it would be helpful to know. Also, we do not have people walking around with pagers. They all have dedicated offices. We have a full week of interpreter training for 911 qualified interpreters. Larry seems to be working from here say. Absolutely willing to be a resource: gregholt@languageline.com Our dept uses it also...more info on the Language Line can be found at: www.languageline.com There are many phone interpreting services that provide professional interpreting. We use one called Cyracom and I'm familiar with several others. I'd also be glad to give information in this regard. Grace Vega, Language Services Coordinator, UMHC - MO Thank you. This was very informative. I look forward to the next one. The point of folks not being asked to help is critical. Here in Sioux Falls we found that the individual ethnic groups are very willing to help and become advocates standing with safety organizations. My fire district may be interested in participating! We have a large migrant population - I would love to do a better job at reaching out to our diverse community & changing some of the 'attitudes' internally about the importance of cultural differences. Fantastic presentation, my area of interest is the area of fire risk as it relates to religion and rituals, specifically the Jewish religion. We have a website www.jewishfireprevention.org. I appreciate the great work that you are doing. The Mesa Fire Department has found this program Corazon de mi Vida to be very culturally relevant when educating Latino residents on Child Passenger Safety it's by the National Latino Children's Institute -- http://www.nlci.org/kits/corazon_intro%20page.htm. |
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