Community Risk Reduction Week

By virtue of the authority vested by the Constitution of Virginia in the Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, there is hereby officially recognized:

WHEREAS, according to the National Fire Protection Association, on average, a fire department responded to a fire somewhere in the United States every 21 seconds in 2022; and

WHEREAS, a home structure fire was reported every 88 seconds, a home fire death occurred every three hours and fourteen minutes, and a home fire injury occurred every 53 minutes in 2022; and

WHEREAS, wildland related fires remain a concern nationwide with multibillion-dollar losses reported in 2022; and

WHEREAS, Community Risk Reduction Week is a grassroots initiative led by fire service professionals across the nation to raise awareness of the importance of Community Risk Reduction programs to make communities safer; and

WHEREAS, Community Risk Reduction is a data-informed process to identify and prioritize local risks, followed by integrated and strategic investment of resources to reduce their occurrence and impact; and

WHEREAS, the Community Risk Reduction section at the Virginia Department of Fire Programs is available as a resource to localities wanting to conduct a Community Risk Assessment, a strategic planning process with a comprehensive evaluation that identifies, prioritizes, and defines risks pertaining to the overall community; and

WHEREAS, the goal of Community Risk Reduction is to reduce the occurrence and impact of emergency events for both citizens of the Commonwealth and emergency responders through deliberate action in the areas of the five E’s of Education, Engineering, Enforcement, Emergency Response, and Economic Incentive; and

WHEREAS, most fire-related and medical calls for service are preventable, with the five E’s performed as part of an integrated Community Risk Reduction program;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Glenn Youngkin, do hereby recognize January 15-21, 2024, as COMMUNITY RISK REDUCTION WEEK in our COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, and I call this observance to the attention of our citizens.

Governor of Virginia

Proclamations