Story by Kristi Eaton
Keep Kids Fire Safe Foundation, based in Clarksville, Arkansas, was recently designated as a tax exempt, 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit corporation organized specifically for charitable and educational purposes.
Founded by Fire Safety Educator Dayna Hilton, a firefighter, the foundation’s mission is to help keep children and their caregiver’s fire safe nationwide. The Keep Kids Fire Safe Foundation develops and distributes educationally sound innovative fire safety related materials at little or no cost to children and their caregivers, fire departments, schools and other organizations.
According to the United States Fire Administration’s Children and Fire in the United States Report (1994-1997), the very young (those under age five) have a much greater risk from fire than others. The group accounts for 11% of fire-related deaths~ the highest population for any age group.
Hilton, a nationally recognized fire safety expert, along with her fire safety dogs, have made it their mission to save lives, reduce injuries and decrease property loss from fire for almost a decade, concentrating their fire safety efforts on children in pre- and elementary schools and their caregivers.
Keep Kids Fire Safe Foundation’s mascot, Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog, rescued from a home with 62 other dogs and adopted by Hilton in 2003, has received critical acclaim along with Hilton, for their innovative fire safety programming methods. Together, the two have reached millions of children and their caregivers their efforts have resulted in helping save the lives of two children and members of their families.
The Keep Kids Fire Safe Foundation goals include the following:
- To be the premier fire safety education association for children and their caregivers
- Identify characteristics of excellence in fire safety education
- Provide a forum to promote fire safety for children and their caregivers in America and throughout the world
- Promote continuous improvement in fire safety education through utilizing the latest fire safety research, thereby benefiting children, their families and the public
- Establish a continuing relationship with individuals and groups interested in promoting excellence in fire safety, including schools, business and industry, government agencies and professional associations
- Promote innovation and creativity in teaching and learning fire safety, including the sharing of best practices and assisting in the professional development of fire safety educators
- Be a resource and provide beneficial services for schools, fire departments, and fire safety educators concerning issues in fire safety education
- To assist fire departments in benchmarking through the sharing of best practices and providing research and information
- To support worthy projects and research in fire safety education
- To present appropriate awards to and confer recognition upon outstanding supporters of fire safety education
To learn more about the foundation or to support the work of the foundation in helping keep children and their caregiver’s fire safe, please visit the foundation’s website at http://www.keepkidsfiresafe.org
