Supporting Statement A

Many lives are lost each year due to fires. In 2006, more than 412,000 residential fires in the United States claimed the lives of 2,580 people and injured another 12,925 (Karter, 2007). Most victims of fire die from smoke inhalation or toxic gases and not from burns (Hall, 2001). In 2006, residential fires accounted for almost more than $7 billion in direct property damage (Karter, 2007). Approximately two-thirds of residential fire deaths occur in fire in which the home did not have a functioning smoke alarm (Ahrens, 2007).

Strategies to reduce injuries and deaths from residential fires should include smoke alarms, which are widely recommended because of their demonstrated effectiveness in preventing injuries and deaths when there is a fire (Runyan, 2004). Prevention also should include public fire safety education, also known as “Fire and Life Safety Education” (FLSE). FLSE is defined as “community fire and injury prevention programs [and activities] designed to eliminate or mitigate situations that endanger lives, health, property, or the environment” (NFPA, 2005), and can promote the use of safe products and risk-reduction approaches that families and individuals can use in their homes.

While FLSE can be delivered by schools, health care providers, health care organizations, governmental agencies, and non-profit and advocacy organizations, traditionally, it is conducted primarily by fire departments. Fire departments have a longstanding commitment to public education. Their expertise in fire, along with their credibility and respected standing in the community make their role in prevention particularly important.

Until recently there has been no systematic assessment of fire safety education efforts conducted by fire departments. In 2006, the Home Safety Council, a non-governmental organization, addressed this gap by commissioning Johns Hopkins University to conduct a national FLSE survey (Gielen, McDonald & Piver, 2007). The survey resulted in an initial understanding of current fire and life safety practices, barriers and facilitators, and future needs. While the 2006 FLSE survey provided a sense of activities from a national-perspective, it was not designed to provide a clear picture of the status of FLSE activities at the state or local level. Because most FLSE activities are initiated and conducted by local fire departments, understanding these issues for smaller defined areas is critical for individual states and communities to advance and improve their prevention work.

The proposed study will involve conducting a statewide fire and life safety survey of Pennsylvania fire departments. Pennsylvania experiences a substantial burden of unintentional residential fire deaths. In 2004, Pennsylvania’s age-adjusted residential fire death rate was 1.1 per 100,000 compared with a national rate of 0.96 (CDC, 2005).

Residential fire prevention is a priority area for the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. This data collection addresses a critical area in the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) Injury Research Agenda for Prevention of Injuries at Home and in the Community: fire and life safety needs assessments identify important resources and gaps that inform the development of research priorities and strategies to prevent residential fire fatalities and injuries.

Authority for CDC to collect this data is granted by Section 301 of the Public Health Services Act (42 U.S.C. 241) (Appendix A). This act gives federal health agencies, such as CDC, broad authority to do many public health activities, including this type of research.

A.2. Purpose and Use of the Information Collection

The primary purpose of the data collection is to determine what fire and life safety public education programs are being conducted by fire departments in Pennsylvania. The proposed needs assessment will answer five questions:

1) What fire departments are conducting FLSE?

2) What FLSE activities are being conducted?

3) How are FLSE activities perceived within fire departments?

4) What are the barriers and facilitators to conducting FLSE?

5) What FLSE training needs do fire departments have?

The findings from this study will provide important information that can inform the development of future intervention and prevention strategies in Pennsylvania. The identification of gaps in fire and life safety activities, such as those focused on high risk populations, could be used to influence statewide policy and legislative decisions. The findings from this study will provide much needed statewide FLSE information and will supplement the results from a 2006 national FLSE survey.

As a public health agency, CDC strives to prevent and reduce the number of injuries and deaths from residential fires. Data from the FLSE survey will aid in that effort by describing local prevention activities and gaps in service. CDC will use this information to provide results and recommendations to state and local fire authorities, who can use this information to improve their programs.

A.3. Use of Improved Information Technology and Burden Reduction

In the development of the 2006 national FLSE survey, members of the Survey Advisory Committee (see table A-1), indicated that most fire chiefs were not savvy with information technology. The use of electronic reporting techniques (e.g., online surveys) might have the unintended consequence of reducing response rates and may not reduce the amount of time to complete a survey. As a result of this feedback, the 2006 FLSE survey was conducted in a pen-and-paper format. The proposed survey approach for this study will be similar, but will also allow participants to request electronic copies of the survey that can be returned by email.

The pen-and-paper survey instrument will be mailed to the leadership of all fire departments in Pennsylvania identified through the 2007 National Directory of Fire Chiefs and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Administrators. A mailed questionnaire format will allow participants the opportunity to complete and return the survey at their convenience. A cover letter, mailed with the survey instrument, will include an invitation to participate in the survey from the leadership at Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Pennsylvania Fire Commissioner (See Appendix B). This letter will also explain the purpose of the survey, the voluntary nature of the research, the procedures used for confidentiality, and provide contact information for questions or concerns. Participants will have the option of returning their completed surveys by mail in a self-addressed stamped envelope provided, by fax, or participants can request an electronic copy of the survey that can be returned by e-mail. Based on 2006 FLSE survey experience, it is expected that a small proportion (less than 10%) of respondents will electronically submit their responses. Reminder postcards will be sent to fire departments that have not responded to the survey within four weeks and follow-up phone calls will be made to fire departments that have not responded by eight weeks.

The content and design of the survey instrument has been modified for its administration in Pennsylvania in collaboration with the Home Safety Council, CDC, and Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. Lessons learned from the 2006 national FLSE survey administration and feedback received from fire chiefs, either written on the survey itself or through presentations at conferences, have been incorporated into an updated version. In addition, several formatting changes, such as providing clearer directions and definitions, offering examples, and changing the response options, will make the survey easier for respondents to complete. Appendix C includes the proposed Pennsylvania FLSE survey.

A.4. Efforts to Identify Duplication and Use of Similar Information

In 2006, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health conducted a national FLSE survey. Prior to this national survey, there was no central information source for identifying existing educational programs or available resources to fire departments to conduct their fire and life safety educational programs. Nor had training needs been identified for public education professionals and volunteers in the U.S. fire service. The 2006 national FLSE survey included a sample of 7,390 fire departments from across the nation, including 505 from Pennsylvania. Although information was gathered from Pennsylvania fire departments, the sampling strategy was designed to generate national estimates that could be stratified by department type, region and size of the population served. In the proposed study, however, the goal is determine what fire and life safety public education programs are being conducted by fire departments specifically in Pennsylvania. There are no similar data available for FLSE activities in Pennsylvania. To reduce respondent burden, previously collected data from Pennsylvania fire departments participating in the 2006 national FLSE survey will be used in this study. The present study involves surveying a stratified random sample of the remaining 2,129 Pennsylvania fire departments that did not participate in the 2006 national FLSE survey.

A review of the literature and communications with fire service experts revealed a gap in the understanding of FLSE activities in Pennsylvania. The proposed study will provide a statewide, systematic examination of Pennsylvania FLSE activities. The Home Safety Council, who sponsored the 2006 national FLSE survey through a FEMA Assistance to Firefighters grant, provided consultation about the proposed Pennsylvania FLSE survey.

A.5. Impact on Small Businesses or Other Small Entities

No small businesses or other small entities will be impacted by this study.

A.6. Consequences of Collecting the Information Less Frequently

If the present data are not collected there will be no way to gauge the extent of FLSE activities and resources in Pennsylvania. Consequently, state- and federal-level fire service and policy makers would have a difficult time making informed decisions about training development and the allocation of resources for fire and life safety prevention programs.

There are no legal obstacles to reduce the burden.

A.7. Special Circumstances Relating to the Guidelines of 5 CFR 1320.5

This study complies fully with the guidelines of 5 CFR 1320.5. No exceptions to the guidelines are required.

A.8. Comments in Response to the Federal Register Notice and Efforts to Consult Outside the Agency

CDC published a notice soliciting public comment on the proposed information collection in the Federal Register on August 6, 2007, Volume 72, No. 150, p. 43642-43643. A copy is attached (Appendix D). There were no public comments in response to the notice.

Leading national fire service and fire and life safety organizations were consulted to inform the development of the 2006 National FLSE survey. Chaired by Chief Dennis Compton, Vice Chair of the Home Safety Council Board of Directors, an advisory committee was formed and met in Washington, DC on May 11, 2006 to contribute not only to decisions about survey items but also to answer questions about appropriate survey respondents, sampling plan, and survey administration. Table A-1 presents a list of participating member organizations.

Table A -1: Member Organizations on the Survey Advisory Committee

Organization	Contact Person	Title	Telephone
State Fire Marshal’s Office, Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development	Charles E. Alitzer	Virginia State Fire Marshal	(804) 371 - 7170
National Association of State Fire Marshals	James Burns	President	(877) 996 - 2736
Carson Associates, Inc.	Peg Carson	Public Education Specialist	(540) 347 - 7488
National Fire Protection Association	John Hall	Assistant Vice President, Fire Analysis and Research Division	(617) 770 - 3000
National Fire Protection Association	Judy Comoletti	Assistant Vice President of Public Education	(617) 984 - 7287
International Fire Service Training Association	Dennis Compton	Fire Chief	(405) 744 - 5723
National Fallen Firefighters Foundation	Teresa Crisman	Public Affairs	(240) 882 - 6772
International Association of Fire Chiefs	Joelle Fishkin	FLSS staff liason	(703) 273 - 0911
National Volunteer Fire Council	Sara Lee	Deputy Director	(202) 887 - 5700
Dallas Fire & Rescue Department	Joe Pierce	Deputy Chief	(214) 670 - 4607
National Volunteer Fire Council	Heather Schafer	Executive Director	(202) 887 - 5291
JR Communications	Julie Reynolds	Marketing Communications Specialist	(781) 344 - 2055
Home Safety Council	Meri-K Appy	President	(202) 330 - 4900
Home Safety Council	Angela Mickalide	Director of Education and Outreach	(202) 330 - 4900

The 2006 national FLSE survey was slightly modified for administration in Pennsylvania (see Appendix C). In finalizing the proposed Pennsylvania FLSE survey, consultations were made during 2007 with key members from the Home Safety Council (President, Meri-K Appy; Director of Education and Outreach, Angela Mickalide), Johns Hopkins School of Public Health (Professor and Director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy, Andrea Gielen; Assistant Professor, Shannon Frattaroli; Project Coordinator, Jennifer Piver), and FEMA’s Assistance to Firefighter Grant program (Chief of the Grants Program Branch, Brian Cowan; Fire Prevention & Safety Grant Coordinator, Cathie Patterson).

A.9. Explanation of Any Payment or Gift to Respondents

This study does not include any payment or gifts to the respondents.

A.10. Assurance of Confidentiality Provided to Respondents

In review of this Information Collection Request (ICR), it has been determined that the Privacy Act is not applicable. Identifiable information will not be collected, because the participants will be reporting about fire and life safety education (FLSE) prevention programs and activities.

This survey will not require identifying information. Instead, each fire department will be assigned a unique identification number. This number will be printed on the survey instrument and will be used to track completed surveys.

The electronic database that links these assigned identification numbers to their respective fire departments will be stored on a password-protected computer in the Project Coordinator’s locked office at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. Electronic files containing data from the completed surveys will be stored in the same manner. In addition, hard copies of returned surveys will be stored in a locked filing cabinet in the Project Coordinator’s office. Only the project coordinator and the co-Principal Investigators at Johns Hopkins will have access to the data.

The CDC National Center for Injury Control and Prevention’s (NCIPC) human subjects coordinator has determined that CDC will not be engaged in human subjects research: CDC will not directly obtain data by intervening or interacting with participants and CDC will not have access to identifiable, including coded, private data (see Appendix F for NCIPC’s non-engagement form). In addition, Johns Hopkins University has received approval from their Internal Review Board (IRB) determining that the Pennsylvania survey is exempt from human subjects review (Appendix G).

A.11. Justification for Sensitive Questions

The survey does not contain any sensitive questions. The fire chief from each department is responsible for filling out the survey. The fire chief is not asked to provide personally identifiable information. Because the fire chief oversees the direction of FLSE activities within a fire department there should be no hesitancy among respondents to provide honest answers.

A.12. Estimates of Annualized Burden Hours and Costs

As shown in Table A-2 below, the estimated respondent burden includes 1) the time to complete the survey and 2) time spent by non-responding fire departments to field reminder phone calls.

The 2007 National Directory of Fire Chiefs and EMS Administrators lists contact information for 2,199 fire departments in Pennsylvania. For the proposed study, a sample of 654 fire departments will be mailed the Pennsylvania FLSE survey. Fire departments that are initially non-responsive will be telephoned to make sure they received the survey and to encourage participation (see Appendix E for the telephone follow-up script). The telephone conversation for this group should last 3 minutes. The burden hours for this group will be 33 hours.

We anticipate that 260 fire department will complete the survey. Based on estimates from a 2006 national FLSE survey, the 35-item survey should take 30 minutes to complete. Therefore, the burden hours for this group will be 130 hours. The total burden for the two groups is 163 hours.

There is no cost to respondents.

Table A-2: Estimated Annualized Response Burden Hours

Respondents	Form Name	No. of Respondents	No. of Responses per Respondent	Average Burden per Response (in hours)	Total Burden (in hours)
Pennsylvania Fire Chiefs	Telephone Script/Follow-up	654	1	3/60	33
Pennsylvania Fire Chiefs	Pennsylvania Fire and Life Safety Education Survey	260	1	30/60	130
	TOTAL				163

The potential respondents are Pennsylvania fire chiefs. The estimated median hourly wage in Pennsylvania for first-line supervisors and managers of firefighting and prevention workers, which includes fire chiefs, is $28.14. The total respondent cost for individuals who complete the survey is $3,658.20. The total respondent cost for individuals who initially do not complete the survey and receive a telephone reminder and for individuals who ultimately do not complete the survey is $928.62. Therefore the total respondent cost for this study is $4,586.82.

Table A-3: Annualized Cost to Respondents

Type of Respondents	Form Name	Total Burden Hours	Hourly Wage Rate¹	Respondent Cost
Pennsylvania Fire Chiefs	Telephone Script/Follow-up	33	$28.14	$928.62
Pennsylvania Fire Chiefs	Pennsylvania Fires and Life Safety Survey	130	$28.14	$3658.20
	Total			$4,586.82

¹Based on Bureau of Labor Statistics Data, US Department of Labor for the year 2006 (http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_pa.htm).

A.13. Estimate of Other Total Annual Cost Burden to Respondents and Record Keepers

This data collection does not include any other annual cost to respondents, nor to any record keepers. No capital or startup costs will be incurred.

A.14. Annualized Cost to the Federal Government

The external (contractor) costs to the federal government for conducting the research for which OMB clearance is required will be $175,184 for one year. Costs for contract labor hours include planning and design, development of study protocols, recruitment, printing and mailing costs, follow-up phone calls with non-responders, data collection, data preparation, data analysis, report writing, and dissemination of findings. The government costs include personnel costs for federal staff involved in project oversight, development of OMB package, and review of reports; these efforts involve approximately 10 percent of a GS-13 scientist. Combined with contractor costs, this yields a total annual cost of $8,790. The overall cost of this research to the Federal Government is presented below in Table A-4.

Table A-4: Estimated Annualized Cost to the Government

	Year 1 ($)
Labor:
CDC personnel for project oversight	8,790
Contract labor for planning and design, development of study protocols, recruitment, printing and mailing costs, follow-up phone calls with non-responders, data collection, data preparation, data analysis, report writing, and dissemination of findings	175,184
Total estimated contract costs	175,184
Total estimated government costs	183,974

A.15. Explanation for Program Changes or Adjustments

This is a new data collection.

A.16. Plans for Tabulation and Publication and Project Time Schedule

A.16.1. Plans for Tabulation

The proposed study involves a one-time administration of a FLSE survey to be conducted with Pennsylvania fire departments over a five month period. The main objective of the proposed survey is to identify current fire and life safety educational programs, resources, and training needs. Survey findings will help answer five questions:

1) What fire departments are conducting FLSE?;
2) What FLSE activities are being conducted?;
3) How are FLSE activities perceived within fire departments?;
4) What are the barriers and facilitators to conducting FLSE?; and
5) What FLSE training needs do fire departments have?

The survey inquires about the respondent (length of service as a chief and in the fire service); general aspects related to FLSE (average hours of FLSE per week, familiarity with FLSE standards, department training requirements, type of personnel who conduct FLSE, and certification for those individuals); types, numbers and focus of FLSE activities offered; whether FLSE targets needs of high risk audiences; FLSE partners and advocacy; use of FLSE educational materials and safety products; FLSE evaluation; satisfaction with FLSE activities; barriers and facilitators for FLSE; and training interest.

The analysis plan for this study involves both descriptive and analytic phases. In the descriptive phase, frequency distributions will be prepared for item responses for the entire sample, and by type of fire department and population served. In the analytic phase, statistical comparisons will be conducted using logistic regression (for binary response items) and linear regression (for continuous response items). Additional analyses will be conducted to examine potential non-response bias.

The below tables A-5 and A-6 are examples of the planned output tables from the analyses:

Table A-5: Percentage of Pennsylvania Fire Departments that Conduct FLSE Activities

Stratification Variable	%
Department Type
Career only
Career & Volunteer
Volunteer only

Population Served
Small
Large

Overall

Reference groups for statistical comparisons: Career; small

Table A-6: Reported Pennsylvania FLSE Activities, by Population Served

Reported FLSE Activity	Small %	Large %
Elementary school presentations
Fire safety week/month events
Older adult presentations
Health and safety fairs
Juvenile fire-setting
Sweeps/Neighborhood canvassing
Learn Not to Burn curriculum
Risk Watch® curriculum

A.16.2. Plans for Publication

Survey findings will be disseminated across a number of different formats. First, findings will be shared with Pennsylvania fire service leaders and fire departments. Second, findings will be shared with members of the fire service, including fire and life safety educators, through presentations at professional meetings and publications in fire journals. Third, survey findings will be shared with the general public through NCIPC’s website and various forms of print media coverage.

A.16.3. Timeline

Data collection will take approximately five months. This includes mailing surveys to fire departments and prompting non-responding fire departments to participate. The project time schedule is shown in Table A-7.

Table A-7: Project Time Schedule

Activity	Time Schedule
Print and mail survey materials to fire departments	1 month after OMB approval
Send reminder postcard to non-responding fire departments	2 months after OMB approval
Conduct follow-up phone calls with non-responding fire departments	3-4 months after OMB approval
Data collection ends	5 months after OMB approval
Data entry, coding, cleaning	6-8 months after OMB approval
Preliminary descriptive analysis (state-wide estimates)	9-10 months after OMB approval
Complete analysis (population served, department type estimates)	10-11 months after OMB approval
Final report	11-13 months after OMB approval
Presentation at meetings and publications in peer-reviewed journals	24 months after OMB approval

A.17. Reason(s) Display of OMB Expiration Date is Inappropriate

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC), is not seeking an exemption from displaying the expiration date of OMB approval.

A.18. Exceptions to Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions

No exceptions to the certification statement are identified.

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS), [online] 2005. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (producers). http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars/default.htm (accessed August 2 2007).

Finkelstein EA, Corso PS, Miller TR, Associates. Incidence and Economic Burden of Injuries in the United States. New York: Oxford University Press; 2006.

Gielen AC, McDonald EM, Piver J. Fire and Life Safety Education in U.S. Fire Departments:Results of a National Survey, Final Report to the Home Safety Council. Baltimore (MD): Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy, 2007.

Karter MJ. Fire loss in the United States during 2005 full report. Quincy, MA: National Fire Protection Association, Fire Analysis and Research Division, 2006.

National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). NFPA 1035 Standard for Professional Qualifications for Public Fire and Life Safety Education, 2005 Edition, Quincy (MA): NFPA, 1 Batterymarch Park, 2005.

Runyan CW, Casteel C (Eds.). The State of Home Safety in America: Facts About Unintentional Injuries in the Home, 2nd edition. Washington, D.C.: Home Safety Council, 2004.

List of Appendices

Appendix A: Legislative Authority (Section 301)
Appendix B: Fire Department Invitation Letter

Appendix C: Proposed Pennsylvania Fire and Life Safety Education Survey

Appendix D: Federal Register Notice

Appendix E: Telephone Follow-Up Screen for Initial Non-Responders

Appendix F: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control Non-Engagement Documentation

Appendix G: John Hopkins University’s Local IRB Determination

List of Tables

Table A-1: Member Organizations on the Survey Advisory Committee

Table A-2: Estimated Annualized Response Burden Hours

Table A-3: Annualized Cost to Respondents

Table A-4: Estimated Annualized Cost to the Government

Table A-5: Percentage of Fire Departments that Conduct FLSE Activities

Table A-6: Reported FLSE Activities, by Population Served

Table A-7: Project Time Schedule

File Type	application/msword
File Title	Human Behavior in Fire Study
Author	Battelle
Last Modified By	tfs4
File Modified	2008-04-03
File Created	2008-04-03