In early 1933, United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) gave the first of many of his uplifting Fireside Chats. FDR used the growing medium of radio as a direct conduit to have “conversations” with the American people regarding the many challenges we were facing at the time. Topics included the ongoing banking crisis, recovery from the Great Depression, the New Deal, record home foreclosures and more.
The purpose of our series of Fireside Chats is similar in that it is our hope to initiate open communication directly with the people of West Manatee Fire Rescue District about the issues we face as a community regarding fire and life safety. In this column, we will discuss all things fire and life safety related, both from an operational and prevention-based perspective. We’ll even discuss the differences between the two. We will also talk about fire codes, which are broad in breadth and scope, along with codes more narrowly related to specific types of occupancies, a term used to indicate the intended use of a space.
Other chats will feature talks about general everyday threats, such as drowning, and heat-related emergencies including exhaustion and stroke, among others. There also will be discussions on specific seasonal threats during holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, Independence Day, hurricane season and more.
Fireside Chats is also an opportunity to learn about what goes on at your local fire station. Here we’ll talk about fire department call types, call volume, trends, demographics and a multitude of other topics. Along the way, much like FDR during his Fireside Chats, we hope to educate, be educated, spread a message that prevents loss to property and life and, most importantly, help our community members to be as safe as possible.
