Under the leadership of Fire Marshal Ed Ruckriegel, the
Community Education Unit is responsible for educating the public on fire
prevention and safety, as well as other injury prevention education such
as child passenger safety. Much of this is done through programs
such as fire safety presentations to adults and children, the Children
& Fire program, and through events like Safety Saturday, Fire
Prevention Week, Child Passenger Safety Seat Checks. Fire safety
education in Madison is targeted for the young and elderly citizens.
These two groups of people are statistically more susceptible to fire.
This unit of the Fire Prevention Division provides the community with
educational programs which can be designed to address the fire safety
needs of the audience. Fire station tours are arranged for Scout
Troops and pre-schools and fire department personnel are always eager to
give presentations to professional and civic organizations. In addition to public
education through programs and presentations, the community education unit serves the Madison and surrounding
communities by covering and releasing information on fire department
events, news, and public service announcements. All three
members of the Community Education Unit also serve as the department's
Public Information Officer (PIO) as they rotate weeks of being on-call.
Members of the Community Education Unit are actively
involved in many organizations and groups that focus on safety and injury
prevention. They include:
- Madison Area Safe Kids Coalition
- Triad of Dane County
- Wisconsin Alliance for Fire Safety (WAFS)
- Emergency Medical Services for Children
