MEMO

Date: 04/07/2022

To: Alaska Fire Chief Association

From: Emmanuel Harley

Subject: Decreasing House Fires

Reference: Proposal Email sent on April 7th, 2022

Distribution List: President, Director

The Alaska Fire Chief Association (AFCA) aims to serve the people of Alaska by providing emergency
services and programs. Over the recent years, house fires have been increasing and causing
homeowners to be homeless. The AFCA offers excellent opportunities to homeowners; however, they
have a low budget and lack funding for programs. Along with that, our firefighting crew is limited and
need more help.

Summary
The number of firefighters in Alaska have decreasing since the budget cut years ago. No one is being
hired or paid enough in this state. Alaska Fire Death Rate per Million Population is 20.7 as reported. In
2021 alone, Alaska had 389 total fires caused by humans and lighting. House fires leave homeowners
with property damage meaning they might have to find a new home or rebuild the damaged home,
which takes time and money. We must have more firefighters on staff along with paying them more.
Then we must establish ourselves on social media platforms to spread awareness. The budget must be
increased.

The Plan
Hiring more firefighters

Having a limited fire crew to fight these house fires is an issue we must deal with. We have not been
hiring new members since the budget cut years ago. When firefighters are given a salary estimate, they
turn the other direction. We must have members apart of the fire crew to efficiently fight these fires.

Social Media Awareness

While house fires are continually increasing, I have proposed a few solutions to slowing down this house
fire crisis. First, social media awareness is essential. Creating a social media page where Alaskans can
follow and be educated on fire safety and important events/workshops. This will be implemented on all
social media platforms to reach a wider range of audiences. We haven’t been using that resource to our
full potential, and it’s time to use that to our advantage.

Increase Funding

Secondly, providing more funds for programs for the restoration of homes of homeowners, firefighters,
trainings, and workshops for anyone interested. Increasing the budget may lead to bigger things in the
future. Paying our firefighters is a must. Although this is established in Alaska, we want to become more
nationally connected with the other states in the United States.

Conclusion
In conclusion, we will never know when a house fire will occur but being prepared for one is essential.
Having firefighters to combat these house fires is essential and must be paid. Implementing the other
solutions addressed above will significantly help decrease the number of house fires and bring more
awareness to the community. Getting a safer community for the homeowners and those who protect us
is our primary objective. Let’s make a real difference in our community. Thank you for taking the time to
consider the information presented above. Please reach out if you have any questions.

Recommendations
First, we must schedule our first meeting to determine a budget for new programs and social media
platforms. Then we must schedule a bigger meeting with the budgeting committee to talk about
increasing the salaries of our firefighter heroes. If we approve any thing during that meeting, then we
start hiring for skill firefighters. We must continue to develop our social media by creating a new logo to
attract a wider range of audience. I hope that you take these recommendations into considerations.
 References

Alaska Department of Natural Resources. (n.d.). Dnr.alaska.gov. Retrieved April 11, 2022, from

http://forestry.alaska.gov/Assets/pdfs/firestats/2021%20Alaska%20Wildfire%20Season%20Statistics.pdf

Alaska Fire Chiefs Association - Strategic Plan. (n.d.). Alaskafirechiefs.org. Retrieved April 14, 2022, from

https://alaskafirechiefs.org/strategic-plan

Laycock, R. (2020, October 19). House fires statistics: Causes, costs and number of fires. Finder.com.

https://www.finder.com/house-fire-statistics

The Dangerous Consequences of a House Fire - RestorationMaster. (2015, July 16). Restorationmasterfinder.com.

https://restorationmasterfinder.com/restoration/dangerous-house-fire-consequences/

The Effects of House Fires | eHow.com. (2021). EHow.com. https://www.ehow.com/list_6701247_effects-house-fires.html

U.S. Fire Administration. (2017). U.S. fire statistics. U.S. Fire Administration. https://www.usfa.fema.gov/data/statistics/