Fire Education in a Multi-Lingual Community
Christian Lewis, Springfield Fire Department
Willie Spears, Springfield Fire Department
Pablo Flores, Springfield Fire Department

Format: Audio MP3 Download: $18
Audio Compact Disc: $23

This presentation by the recipients of the 2013 Rolf H. Jensen Memorial Public Education Grant, will provide invaluable information for fire safety educators working in communities that have immigrant populations or where many languages are spoken. These groups have been historically underserved, and cultural differences make contact and teaching opportunities difficult. Diverse cultural groups face unique challenges when it comes to understanding local fire safety laws on cooking, heating, etc. The session will offer first-hand knowledge of the principles of building a foreign language education program from scratch and will include discussion on networking with community leaders, interpretation concerns, and building the necessary partnerships to break down barriers.