Risk Watch
Prevention begins with education.  Lake Stevens Fire is dedicated to providing the best education to help you prevent emergencies and injuries.  Risk Watch is providing vital education to many classes in our schools.   For those classes not currently using Risk Watch, the following programs provide updated safety and fire prevention. Visit the Risk Watch Site

• Pre-Kindergarten--visit by fire department
• Kindergarten--education/station tours/handouts
• 1st Grade--911 with "Freddie" the fire truck/handout
• 2nd Grade--video/handouts
• 3rd Grade--video/handouts
• 4th, 5th, up--Safety Fire House/handouts
• Seniors--Kitchen Safety/Falls Prevention
• Businesses--Fire Extinguishers/CPR

Champion Update
In March of 1999, the Lake Stevens Community and Lake Stevens Fire were chosen by the National Fire Protection Association as one of twenty sites in North America as a "Champion" site for the implementation of the Risk Watch curriculum in its schools.  Risk Watch, an all injury prevention program, addresses the eight leading causes of injury and death to children under the age of fourteen.   These focuses are motor vehicle, fire and burns, choking/suffocation/strangulation, poisoning, falls, firearms, bicycle, pedestrian, and water. 

The "Champion" award required that classes using the curriculum complete all of the focuses by January 2000.  It also required pre and post testing and evaluations to be performed.  As a result of testing, 648 students showed an average knowledge gain of 11%.  Our hat goes off to our teachers for a job "well done".

A third "success" save was also recorded involving Firearm injury prevention.  This involved one of our 2nd graders, Johnathon Terry, who used what he had learned in Risk Watch to prevent himself and his cousin from serious injury or death after discovering a firearm at a relative's residence.  Once again this proves the power of prevention education and the effects it has in our children's lives.

In March 2000, the State of Washington was chosen as a "Champion" state for Risk Watch.  During the year 2000, there were five community sites throughout the state that implemented the program.  Projections are in place for ten sites in the year 2001 and ten sites in the year 2002.  Lake Stevens Fire is a mentor for the new communities implementing Risk Watch for the State Of Washington.

Currently Lake Stevens has over 60 classes using the Risk Watch program and is continually working with the schools to bring more teachers on board.

Community Emergency Response Team
The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) concept was developed and implemented by the City of Los Angeles Fire Department in 1985. They recognized that citizens would most likely be on their own during the early stages of a catastrophic disaster. Accordingly, the fire department decided that some basic training in disaster survival and rescue skills would improve the ability of citizens to survive until responders or other assistance could arrive. The training program proved to be so successful in Los Angeles, that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) felt the concept should be made available to communities nationwide. The CERT materials were expanded to make them applicable to all hazards and provide to local agencies. Lake Stevens Fire recognized the value of this program, and is now offering classes to you.

The training course will cover a variety of planning, prevention and manipulative skills necessary to survive a disaster. There is a requirement to attend all sessions, establish a three day home survival kit, obtain personal safety equipment and be a willing team participant. The training class begins Wednesday, March 30, and meets every Wednesday evening for seven (7) weeks from 6:30 – 9:30 PM. Classes will rotate between Marysville Fire, Station 62 located at 10701 Shoultes Road, Marsville and Station 66 located at 7217 40th Stree NE, Marysville. The cost of the registration fee for the course is $25. Applicants must be a minimum of sixteen (16) years of age to attend. For more information (Download brochure (193k PDF).

To register for the class, please contact Alison Caton at 425.212.3062.

Alison Caton
Public Educator