Working With Fire Departments to Adapt and Implement Evidence-Based Programs That Increase Uptake of Smoke Alarms: A Case-Series Report

We describe a partnership between an academic injury center and three U.S. fire departments to adapt and implement strategies for promoting smoke alarm programs. Each fire department identified the aims and parameters for a new promotion campaign for their smoke alarm programs. Promotion was directed toward residents in each department's catchment area who were eligible for the smoke alarm program. All three departments independently elected to use an automated telephone message to promote their smoke alarm programs. Uptake of smoke alarm installation services ranged between 0.02% and 2% of the calls placed. In Rochester, automated calls were sent to all residential landlines via the city's nonemergency call center; requests for smoke alarms increased by a factor of 7.5 in the month following the campaign. In Grand Rapids, automated calls were sent to 6% of the households served due to the telecommunications infrastructure; because of the limited reach, the overall number of requests remained unchanged, and the number of callers citing the automated calls was less than the number of requests callers reported were motivated by Grand Rapids' existing promotion strategies. In Cloquet, the automated calls were broadcast on a rolling basis to geographic clusters of households; although the number of requests remained unchanged, fire district officials were pleased to reduce driving time between appointments which allowed volunteers to offer more home visit appointments. Automated telephone calls can be a valuable tool for promoting smoke alarm programs, but fire departments should carefully identify how dissemination strategies can best complement existing program efforts.