East Central Reporter

The State of Illinois Community Risk Reduction (CRR) Task Force today announced Governor JB Pritzker has proclaimed the week of Monday, January 16, 2023 through Sunday, January 22, 2023 Community Risk Reduction Week in Illinois. CRR is a data-driven process to identify and prioritize local risks, followed by the integrated and strategic investment of resources (emergency response and prevention) to reduce their occurrence and impact.

The goal of CRR Week is to raise awareness among the fire service that implementing CRR concepts will make communities and department safer. The idea of CRR week originated with individuals from various fire departments across the country. The focus of the week will be on the five "E's" of CRR: Education, Engineering, Enforcement, Economic Incentive and Emergency Response. Any fire department or community, big or small, rural or metro, paid or volunteer can use CRR concepts to identify risks in their communities and start to plan how to reduce those risks. Monday, January 16, 2023, is Martin Luther King Day and is nationally recognized as a National Day of Service and an opportunity for communities to reduce the risk in their community through a series of educational and other programs.

"Many Illinois communities face similar risks when it comes to fires and injuries. But each community is also home to its own unique set of risks and hazards. These risks pose a danger not only to community members, but also to first responders," said Illinois CRR Project Manager Marsha Giesler. "When we use the data driven CRR approach on a statewide basis, we can begin to look more closely at the needs of individual communities and work to help mitigate their risks. CRR is strategic, user friendly, and resourceful.

"Through the work of the State of Illinois CRR Task Force conducting and compiling the statewide risk assessment, valuable data is now available pinpointing not only statewide risks, but more localized risks that we can now work with our partners to help mitigate making communities safer across the state through programs like Be Alarmed," said Acting Illinois State Fire Marshal Dale Simpson.

Illinois Fire Service Institute (IFSI) Director, Chief Jim Keiken, states, "IFSI is proud to be a member of the Illinois CRR Task Force. Through statewide agency and organization collaboration, the Task Force is able to have a direct impact on community emergency preparedness and risk mitigation efforts. CRR Week is a great reminder of the Task Force's progress since the inception in 2019 to improve community safety throughout Illinois."

According to crrweek.org, every 23 seconds, a fire department in the United States responds to a fire somewhere in the nation. In 2021, 75% of all fire deaths occurred in the home and home fires were responsible for 14,700 civilian injures, causing an estimated $15.9 billion in property damage. In 2021, EMS responses were the top reason for a fire department to be called out in Illinois, and nationally the fire service responds to a growing number of medical calls for service, surpassing 80% of total call volume in some communities.

The CRR process began in the state of Illinois in late 2019, due to the pandemic, the official establishment of the State of Illinois Community Risk Reduction Task Force was delayed until early 2021. The mission of the taskforce is to promote the importance of risk reduction in Illinois by inspiring community ownership and providing coordinated resources. To learn more about the task force and find CRR resources to help get a CRR program started in your community, visit illinoiscrr.com or follow on facebook at @IllinoisCRR.

Original source can be found here