ESFI Awarded FEMA Grant to Develop Fire Safety Campaign for At-Risk Communities

The Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI) was awarded a Fire Prevention & Safety Grant (FP&S) from the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (DHS/FEMA) for fiscal year 2021. ESFI will use the funding to develop a multi-faceted home fire safety awareness campaign that targets at-risk communities, including older adults.

The goal of the program is to reduce the number of home fire-related injuries and deaths through community risk reduction. The program will focus on the leading causes of home fires: cooking fires, heating fires, and electrical distribution fires. Program resources will include brochures, PSAs, ads, and more.

An analysis of data published by the NFPA illustrates the critical and widespread fire problem in the United States. Fire departments responded to 339,500 home structure fires in 2019. This accounted for “roughly 2,770 (75% of all deaths) civilian fire deaths and 12,200 (73% of all injuries) reported civilian fire injuries. Property damage was estimated at $7.8 billion.” Residential fires remain a pervasive and deadly problem.

“For 28 years, ESFI has implemented year-round national public education programs with a focus on preventing fires caused by cooking, heating, and electrical equipment,” said ESFI President Brett Brenner. “In addition, ESFI tailors our community risk reduction resources to address emerging needs, including supporting new fire prevention technologies required in national codes. Raising awareness among the most at-risk populations is crucial to preventing home fires, fire deaths, and related injuries.”

This is the seventh time that ESFI has received a FEMA FP&S grant. Funding from previous grants allowed the foundation to develop and implement a comprehensive home fire safety awareness campaign to educate at-risk children, senior citizens, and their families nationwide about home fire hazards. As a result, ESFI directly impacted over 7.2 million people in the most at-risk communities. These home fire safety awareness programs equipped consumers with the knowledge to help prevent seasonal home fires throughout the year, focusing primarily on the leading causes of home fires.

ABOUT ESFI
ESFI is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to promoting electrical safety at home and the workplace. For more information and to use ESFI’s free resources throughout your community, visit esfi.org.
# # #