The city of Detroit has had a history of fire safety issues, noted in a study done in 2017 that showed the disproportionate rate Detroit residents were experiencing fires in their residences, 18% compared to the 13% national average at the time.
Since then, the city of Detroit and organizations within the city have taken initiatives in order to help to prevent fires in resident’s homes as well as structural building fires. One of these initiatives were spurred by a grant given to Wayne State University’s College of Urban Studies by State Farm Neighborhood Assist Program. This grant allowed Wayne State to partner with Detroit Fire Prevention and Safety program to install smoke detectors and CO detectors, visit Detroit homes, and educate residents in fire prevention and best safety practices. Beyond this, the city of Detroit now has a “Mobile Fire Safety House” program wherein they educate children on the importance of fire detection, evacuation and safety by exposing them to hands-on methods. Most of these programs are at early childhood facilities, and Head Start programs with a fee associated.
Detroit continues to evolve everyday, to become safer for residents and improve the social safety net for those most at risk. Rebuilding together is continuously thinking of how we can better serve Detroit, and have been selected to be in a grant contest from State Farm. We hope to use the funds from this grant to continue working on fire safety in Detroit by passing out fire safety kits to homeowners. By equipping residents with fire extinguishers, (OTHER MATERIALS HERE), we are helping homeowners to feel safer and more confident in their homes. Many materials associated with fire safety have a high price tag on them, and for low income residents fire prevention and safety may not feel like a priority. These kits intend to bridge that gap and give these necessary materials to homeowners who need it most.
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Wayne State University-Center for Urban Studies article:
https://today.wayne.edu/news/2017/04/10/wayne-states-center-for-urban-studies-receives-state-farm-award-for-home-fire-safety-campaign-in-detroit-6075
