The Las Cruces Fire Department is committed to educating the public on fire and injury prevention. LCFD has adopted several programs that address these issues.

Risk Watch Injury Prevention Program

The New Mexico Department of Health found that New Mexico is the nation’s leader in unintentional injuries and second in injury-related deaths. Preventable accidents are a leading cause of injuries and deaths for young children. In cooperation with local teachers in the Las Cruces Public Schools, the fire department began an injury prevention program in October 2001 that targets children in kindergarten through fifth grade using the National Fire Protection Association’s Risk Watch curriculum which was prepared by educators and life safety professionals. Over the year-long program, safety information and behaviors are taught to the children in the following high risk areas:

• Bike and Pedestrian Safety

• Fire and Burn Prevention

• Poisoning Prevention

• Motor Vehicle Safety

• Firearms Injury Prevention

• Falls Prevention

• Choking, Suffocation and Strangulation Prevention

• Water Safety

Volunteers from local public safety agencies including the Las Cruces Police Department, Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Office, EMS Region II, Southwest Air Ambulance, Dona Ana SAFE KIDS Chapter, NM Motor Transport Division and Elephant Butte Irrigation District are partners in this project.

The program currently exists at Valley View Elementary, Hillrise Elementary and East Picacho Elementary schools. We are currently expanding into more elementary schools in the Las Cruces Public School District. For more information, please call 505-528-4150.

Adopt a School

Las Cruces Fire Department’s Adopt-a-School Program is a community outreach program within the Las Cruces Public School District that focuses on elementary age school children.

The three primary goals for this community outreach program are:

• To provide outside mentors for children

• To provide elementary schools with additional positive role models

• To assist the schools with providing fire and life safety education to the children in our community.

The positive presence firefighters already have in our schools provides an ideal opportunity for us to participate as mentors and role models to the children in our community. Each engine company adopts their "own" elementary school and participates during the school day a few hours per month. Some of the activities in which we engage include:

Spending time with the children, emphasizing the value of the district’s "Character Counts" program Assisting teachers who participate the Risk Watch Injury Prevention Program Participating in career day activities Helping children learn to read or do math Playing games with them on the playgrounds Eating the noon meal with the children in the cafeteria Engaging in other school-related activities

We also have the opportunity through this program to address fire and life safety issues with the children. Using the personnel and resources we have the opportunity to positively impact in the lives of the children in our community.

Play Safe! Be Safe! Fire Safety for Preschoolers

Of the ten leading causes of injury deaths for the one to four and five to nine year old age groups, unintentional fires and burns ranks third (National Center for Health Statistics, 2000). Of the first recorded 10 fires in the City of Las Cruces in 2001, children playing with matches and lighters caused three. These fires occurred during the day and were started by four and five year olds. This does not include the countless other incidents that occur and are not reported.

This fire safety program targets three to five year olds who stay home with their parents, grandparents and other caregivers. The program is designed to provide parents and caregivers with fire safety information and to help them teach fire safety behaviors to their young children. The program also provides access to a multi-media tool kit that includes a video, games and other activities for the children. Three to five year-olds are naturally curious at this stage in their lives, so it is imperative to learn fire safety education and fire safety skills at a young age.

This program is currently available to parents and caregivers at the Success by Six Parenting Resource Center in Las Cruces, 727 Taylor Street, 505-526-4057, the La Vida Institute Resource Library in Las Cruces, 255 West Hadley, 505-527-1231.