CRR workshop guides participants through community risk assessment (CRA) process
CRR workshop was held at the NFPA Conference & Expo® (C&E) today, guiding participants through the community risk assessment (CRA) process. The half-day program, which highlighted proven strategies for moving local CRA efforts forward, was led by Karen Berard-Reed, a senior strategist leading the community risk reduction (CRR) initiative at NFPA, and Chelsea Rubadou, an NFPA engineer who serves as a staff liaison and SME for standards dedicated to CRR, data analysis and fire prevention programs.
Together, Berard-Reed and Rubadou discussed the true value of using data to answer the “who, what, when and why” of leading risks within a given community. From there, fire departments can create a a community risk reduction (CRR) plan that serves as a roadmap for effectively addressing those safety issues.
Some workshop attendees noted that efforts to capture community data have felt overwhelming, limiting their ability to move forward. Berard-Reed and Rubadou recognized that this and similar challenges can curtail CRA efforts. Both shared strategies for working through them, while attendees also shared their experiences in breaking through roadblocks.
Attendees also had ample opportunities to break into smaller groups to brainstorm and collaborate on a host of issues. These lively conversations were shared with and discussed among all workshop attendees. These conversations and interactions fostered new connections along with opportunities to continue learning from one another after the conference.
Visit nfpa.org/CRR to learn more about CRA, CRR, NFPA 1300, Standard on Community Risk Assessment and Community Risk Reduction Plan Development, and CRAIG 1300™, a community risk assessment (CRA) dashboard that helps fire departments and safety officials collect community data, enabling them to identify, assess and share local demographic, geographic and economic needs.
