Rich Marinucci
Everyone Goes Home® Program Director
Ever since the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation received word that it was successful with its FIRE Act grant, members of the Everyone Goes Home® program have been planning for the implementation of the projects identified in the year five application. I have been retained to manage the program and I am excited about the possibilities. I am fortunate to have a dedicated team who are all committed to the mission of reducing line-of-duty deaths (LODDs).
The Everyone Goes Home® program is focusing its efforts on a few basic premises.
- Target the main causes of LODD - health, roadway, and during operations.
- Consider programs that fit into the one year time period of the grant.
- Work on partnerships that improve outcomes and provide a long-term solution.
- Pursue methods that improve on the outreach of the program, seeking ways to reach more of the fire service with the safety message.
- Build upon the successes of the previous four years of the program.
One of the major initiatives is to enhance the advocate program. This is a grassroots effort of Everyone Goes Home® intended to take the Foundation's message to as many fire stations and firefighters as possible. Chief Billy Hayes of the Washington, D.C. Fire Department, has accepted the challenge to improve on the basic concept of this outreach effort. This will be accomplished through better communication and direction to the regional and state advocates, a plan to visit fire departments, and to recruit more individuals willing to assist with these efforts.
In year four, an outstanding training package was produced and sent to every fire department in the United States. Hopefully your organization received this package. In year five we will not be doing this, but instead will take a more proactive approach in assisting departments in using this training. Departments have been given tools to help and now need to use them to assist with their training.
The Courage to Be Safe ® training program has been well received and is an outstanding training tool. This year, the Everyone Goes Home® program will increase efforts to seek adoption of this training package to ensure its sustainability independent of the success of future grant applications. The Everyone Goes Home® program will continue with Courage to Be Safe ® but will also look for ways to partner with others. In addition, Everyone Goes Home® will look to develop its second program - Leadership, Accountability, Courage, and Knowledge (LACK) which is designed to assist officers in promoting the appropriate safety message.
There is no doubt this will be an exciting year. We look forward to continuing with our efforts and pursuing innovative ways to promoting the mission of National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and Everyone Goes Home®. If you are interested and have the time to help, let us know. Feel free to visit our website at: www.everyonegoeshome.com for more information.