The other day National Fire Protection Association issued a press release about a new fire safety education program targeted at America’s young people, our children.  It’s a new Internet-based interactive program: like the ones your children are already playing on the computer every day after school.

The NFPA is hoping that the characters in the program, “Uh-Ohs™”, will engage children in activities to learn fire safety at a young age.  “Reaching kids with important safety messages in an era when kids are bombarded with different media is challenging. The Uh-Ohs figurines are a perfect reminder for kids to be careful and watch out for dangers,” said Lorraine Carli, NFPA vice president of communications.  Sounds like a great idea, right?

Wrong.  When I went to the website I found out that if I were a child I could not “jump right in” and start learning about fire safety from the “Uh-Ohs™”.  I could navigate to some of the fire safety lessons, but to get the “full deal”, I would have to have the “Uh-Ohs™” figurines.  Only then could I get the special access code—from the figurines—needed to access all that the site had to offer.  The cost of the figurines for Mom and Dad: $34.00 for NFPA members and $38.00 for non-members.

But, Mr. and Mrs. America, you cannot buy them.  The NFPA encourages you—at the website—to ask you school or local fire department to purchase them for your child’s classroom.

NFPA expects fire departments and other fire safety educators throughout the country will purchase and distribute the Uh-Oh figurines as another way to ensure kids are safe from fire and other hazards in their community. (NFPA Press Release, May 27, 2008)

I can tell you with full confidence that is probably not going to happen any time soon.  Fire department budgets, for career and volunteer departments alike, are already not funded to meet current needs in most communities in the USA.  In local government we call these kinds of initiatives, though they are well-intended, unfunded mandates.  Some other entity—state or federal government or private organization like NFPA—comes up with a great idea, then you [local government] have to figure out how to pay for it along with everything else.

Memo to NFPA: Try breaking the paradigm!  The Internet is about open access, not restriction.  Every child in America who has access to a computer—with parental supervision, of course—should have total access to these valuable fire safety education games and activities.  Fire departments and schools don’t need more workload and expenses thrust upon them.

The website is a great idea.  The implementation plan is missing the boat.