Ember 911™ Receives $65,579 Fire Prevention & Safety Grant from FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security
The Ember911™ Child Safety Program (www.Ember911.com) in partnership with its sponsor, the Rotary Club of Kankakee, received a $65,579 Fire Prevention & Safety Grant. Rotary is an organization of service clubs around the world providing humanitarian service and helping to build goodwill and peace. The grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is for a Mobile Classroom (PREP House—Plan-Respond-Educate-Prepare) to enhance the Ember911™ Child Safety Education Program to provide better fire, accident prevention and life saving education to our community and surrounding areas.
The Ember911™ Child Safety program is divided into three phases: Phase I teaches children how to recognize and react in different emergency situations through animation, interaction and music. It's designed to teach young children and children with autism. The curriculum compliments the National Fire Protection Association's Risk Watch Program (www.RiskWatch.org) Phase II teaches parents and educators how to use the curriculum to teach children how to stay safe. Phase III is teaching first responders how to recognize and work with children with autism in an emergency situation in cooperation with the Kankakee Valley Chapter of the Autism Society of America.
The trailer is handicap accessible and features SMART Board technologies along with the Senteo Interactive Response System for computerized testing. With the Internet access and its generator, the trailer can double as an incident command center for local public safety departments, housing radio equipment and other items in case of an extended emergency. The functionality of this trailer as a classroom lends itself to be used by small volunteer fire departments for fire prevention & safety training. Many departments in Kankakee and surrounding counties do not have any type of training facilities.
Fire departments can find it hard to find time, money, or the person-power required to implement safety programs. That is why there couldn't be a better club than Kankakee Rotary to help the implement this project and make it available. Club members along with the Rotary's High School Club and College Club all have one common goal--their motto: Service Above Self. Add Ember911™’s dedicated staff, advisory board and partners and you have a winning team that will continue to carry on this project long beyond the grant period. This project embraces an excellent curriculum with the Risk Watch and Ember911 programs combined. The safety-training trailer gives these programs a venue to flourish, teach and save lives. It can be the support of not just one fire department, but that of every public safety department, school, library, park district, not only in Kankakee County, but also in the State of Illinois. The Pembroke Fire Protection District was the first department in Kankakee County to adopt this program.
The Ember911™ Child Safety Program also received an additional $8548 to create a Parent/Teacher training manual and First Responder training. The grant will also fund future animations, DVDs, CDs and comic books based on the safety animations. The program is run by an all volunteer staff who donates their time and expertise. They are dedicated to preventing injuries and saving lives.
