Florida Fire Marshals and Inspectors Association Newsletter

Introduction

In October 2006, in observance of Fire Prevention Week, Texas’ State Fire Marshal’s Office (SFMO) launched a comprehensive fire prevention campaign on the University of Texas’ (UT) Austin campus and at dozens of other locations throughout the state. The campaign, “Have an Exit Strategy,” urged UT students to identify alternate exits and create an escape plan when they enter a crowded public space such as a nightclub.

State Fire Marshal Paul Maldonado, like thousands of his colleagues around the country, was disturbed after viewing video footage of the 2003 Station Nightclub fire in Rhode Island where 100 patrons tragically died while trying to escape through a crowded front door. Could this happen in Texas?

To find out, the SFMO’s Inspections Division conducted random inspections of nightclubs and bars to identify hazardous conditions similar to the ones at The Station Nightclub existed in Texas. The results of those inspections showed an astonishing 96 percent of the establishments had exit violations. Violations ranged from poorly illuminated exit signs to exit doors that were padlocked shut. SFMO employees realized the enormous potential for loss of life when they reckoned that there are tens of thousands similar establishments in the state.

Due to Texas’s vast size and the SFMO’s limited inspection staff, sending an inspector to each establishment was simply not feasible. With egress access identified as an impediment to speedy evacuations, the SFMO directed its attention to a second, equally important problem: the strong human tendency, in an emergency, to try to go out the same door you came in. It appeared that the underlying problem was an issue of human behavior. Failure to develop an escape plan is a key factor in many large loss fires. The Station Nightclub fire was no different: more than two-thirds of the 400-plus individuals rushed the main entrance, causing individuals to fall and hopelessly block the front door while other exits went unused. It took only minutes for the resulting panic and casualties to occur.

It seemed logical to get a message out to those who most frequently patronize bars and nightclubs— students aged 18-34. The SFMO is headquartered in Austin, the “Live Music Capital of the World” known for both higher education and a thriving bar and nightclub scene. The University of Texas at Austin, with 55,000 students, seemed the ideal laboratory in which to conduct a pilot outreach project.

To better understand the mind set of the target market, the SFMO commissioned a study of local university students that was administered by MBA candidate students from St. Edward’s University. Among the findings:

• Eighty-two percent of students claim to have “no strategy” for exiting a venue and rarely consider how they would escape from a fire.

• Eighty percent of students use alcohol, with 23 percent engaging in frequent “binge drinking.” Alcohol impairs judgment and physical coordination and makes quickly escaping from a fire even more difficult.

Overall, the survey revealed apathy toward fire prevention and little personal accountability for safety. Many college students are unaware that fire is a risk or threat in their environment and greatly underestimate the speed and force at which fire can spread.

The very nature of nightclubs makes them hazardous places to be when a fire breaks out: smoking and drinking are ubiquitous and large numbers of people are crammed into small areas. In addition, exit signs can be difficult to see through dim lighting and smoke, especially in an emergency. Some older, smaller venues lack the sprinkler systems required in larger structures, rending them particularly dangerous. Clearly, the time to devise an escape plan is before you need one.

The development of Have an Exit Strategy From the beginning, collaboration played a large role in the project. The Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA), a Texas conservation and reclamation district, shared the SFMO’s concern about the possibility of such a tragedy occurring in Texas. Both agencies felt a strong call to action, and in 2004 representatives from each sat down together to come up with a plan.

ThinkStreet, an Austin-based advertising and marketing firm, signed on as a third partner when it agreed to lend its best creative minds to work on the project pro bono. Have an Exit Strategy was born! With a clear message, a target audience, and a desired outcome identified, the SFMO approached representatives at the University of Texas at Austin (UT) to determine their interest in bringing the message to UT’s 50,000 students. UT officials responded enthusiastically and plans were made to roll out the message on campus during Fire Prevention Week. The SFMO, UT Austin, the LCRA, and ThinkStreet met several times over the course of two years to fine tune the Have an Exit Strategy message.

The implementation

As Fire Prevention Week kicked off on Oct. 4, UT students were met with HAES posters, bus posters, door hangers, magnets, and public service announcements on campus television. UT even enlisted the help of Longhorn’s head football coach Mack Brown and women’s basketball head coach Jody Conradt. The two well-known coaches recorded messages, which were played on the Godzilla-tron and Jumbo-tron screens before games reminding fans to make note of stadium emergency exits. Campus risk management officials and student groups helped distribute items at student orientation sessions and posted printed materials in high traffic areas such as dining halls, dormitories, libraries, and recreation facilities.

To complement visual and tangible items, a HAES web site went live in September. The SFMO aimed to create as much repeat exposure as possible in the hopes that the logo and message would imprint on the collective student subconscious. The SFMO hoped that checking for two exits would become as second nature as looking both ways before crossing the street.

Beyond Austin

The HAES message was not confined to the 350- acre UT campus. As a result of a comprehensive media awareness campaign conducted by ThinkStreet and the SFMO, the initiative attracted growing attention from other organizations and the Office of the Texas Governor. In October 2006, Governor Rick Perry issued a proclamation designating Oct. 4-8 as Texas Fire Prevention Week. In the weeks leading up to Texas Fire Prevention Week, more than 53 Texas cities, schools, universities, and fire departments contacted the SFMO to request HAES campaign materials they could duplicate and use in their own communities. Through the generosity of LCRA and ThinkStreet, the SFMO was able to provide more than 18,000 educational pieces to these organizations at no cost. Their participation greatly increased the campaign’s reach and exposure.

The Texas Fire Service Consortium, comprised of organizations such as the Texas Fire Chief’s Association, the State Firemen's and Fire Marshals’ Association, the Texas State Association of Firefighters, and the State Association of Fire Emergency Districts, readily endorsed HAES and was instrumental in spreading the word and encouraging communities and individuals to participate in local, grassroots awareness campaigns.

What’s next?

According to marketing experts, asking a consumer to change their behavior is exceedingly difficult. It is much more involved than simply asking someone to “Eat at Joe’s” or purchase Brand X detergent. For example, it took many years for anti smoking activists to succeed in convincing large numbers of Americans to quit smoking or to never begin. HAES is no different in that aspect. Although it will likely take months or even years of cumulative exposure to get the message out on a broad scale, the SFMO is committed to doing so. The SFMO has adopted the HAES logo and slogan as its own, and remains steadfast in its commitment to support the message in any way it can. With the SFMO’s recent expansion of its Prevention Outreach Division, the HAES message dovetails with the organization’s mission to “reduce the number and severity of fires and fire related losses throughout Texas.”

Article Provided by

Olin L. Greene
Manager, Southern Region
Tallahassee, FL 32317-4823