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Community Risk Reduction Week is highlighting how FCFRD works to prevent emergencies as well as respond to them.
Community risk reduction, or CRR, is a structured process that identifies and prioritizes local hazards, then directs prevention and emergency-response resources toward reducing how often those hazards occur and limiting their impact.
The approach extends beyond installing smoke alarms or teaching residents how to discard smoking materials safely. It requires a broad assessment of the community and targeted plans for each significant risk.
FCFRD uses community risk assessments to identify high-risk demographic groups and determine which safety topics could have the greatest local impact. The department then develops and carries out a CRR plan before evaluating its effectiveness.
Each plan outlines the goals, programs and resources needed to address the community’s highest-priority risks. FCFRD organizes that work around six areas: engineering, emergency response, economic incentives, education, enforcement and equity. Equity was added to the traditional “Five E’s” model to align the program with Fairfax County’s One Fairfax initiative.
Together, those areas help the department establish objectives, identify resources and partnerships, and coordinate programs aimed at reducing local risks.