NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 59
ADVOCACY,
LEGISLATION,
AND PUBLIC
EDUCATION
Outreach by Lorraine Carli
First Person
A NEW FACES OF FIRE CAMPAIGN USES PERSONAL STORIES TO
BRING AWARENESS TO ELECTRICAL HAZARDS
ince I came to NFPA
One of those faces is Sam Matagi, a
nearly 15 years ago, it has
former power lineman in Colorado. Sam
been my job to direct the
lost both of his hands in a horrific on-theorganization's advocacy
job electrical accident in 2010 when a
efforts aimed at reducscrap of wire he was holding contacted
ing loss from fire, electrical, and other
a live wire and sent nearly 15,000 volts
hazards. I spend a lot of time looking at
of electricity surging through his body.
numbers and trends to figure out what
In the years since his accident, Sam
has the potential for the greatest impact.
has made it his personal mission to
As we often hear, data is king. It provides
support others with burn injuries and
the statistical underpinning for the decihas become a staunch safety advocate. In
sions we make.
his Faces of Fire video, Sam talks about
But I also spend considerable time
actions that can be taken in the worktalking with people who have been
place to prevent these types of accidents
The stats make a
impacted by catastrophic events-those
and spare others the excruciating pain he
strong point, but I
who have been injured, who have lost
has experienced. Sam has also become a
expect the faces
loved ones, who have responded, and
volunteer with the Phoenix Society for
behind these numbers
many others who carry the impact of
Burn Survivors. Despite this life-altering
will have an even
seeing the effects of fire and other tragevent, Sam wants to help others move
greater influence.
edies. If data is king, personal stories
beyond their injuries. "There is a power
transcend royalty. They bring a whole
to overcome their accident and they can
new dimension to our work, as well as
tap into that," he says of survivors. "It's
the motivation to want to change the
called resilience."
statistics in a positive way.
Sam's experience is detailed in one of
With this in mind, NFPA recently launched Faces of FireTM/ six video that have been created so far as part of the Faces of
Electrical, an awareness campaign focused on electrical hazards Fire Electrical Hazards Awareness campaign, and one of two
created in collaboration with the Phoenix Society for Burn that were released during the launch in late September. Each
Survivors. Similar to our original Faces of Fire campaign, the of these videos is a powerful reminder of the importance of
electrical series gives the victims of electrical accidents a chance taking action-at home and in the workplace-to stop these
to tell their personal stories and send a powerful message about accidents from happening. Additional videos will continue to
the dangers that electricity can pose.
roll out over the next few months and will be posted on a dediThe numbers are striking. According to NFPA research, elec- cated webpage at nfpa.org/facesoffire.
trical failures are the second-leading cause of home fires in
In addition to the videos, the Faces of Fire/Electrical webpage
the United States. Additionally, fire departments respond to includes more in-depth stories from the people featured, as well
an annual average of more than 400,000 non-fire electrical as resources for electrical and non-electrical workers, fire safety
incidents. Almost 2,000 workers in the US are injured in elec- advocates, and the general public to learn more about electrical
trical accidents each year, and between 2012 and 2016 a total safety and how to advocate for actions that can help reduce loss.
of more than 700 people died from exposure to electricity at
We greatly appreciate the courage of those who are lending
work. While these workplace-related numbers began trending their stories to this campaign. With their help, we hope that
downward in 2007, they have leveled off since 2012.
there will be fewer stories to tell in the future.
The stats make a strong point, but I expect the faces behind
these numbers will have an even greater influence.
LORRAINE CARLI is vice president of outreach and advocacy for NFPA.
MICHAEL HOEWELER
S
N F PA . O R G / J O U R N A L * NFPA JOURNAL
Outreach_11.20 SJS V2 DCS 10.29.20.indd 59
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10/29/20 4:29 PM
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NFPA Journal - November/December 2020
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - November/December 2020
Contents
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - Cover1
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - Cover2
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 1
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 2
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 3
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - Contents
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 5
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 6
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 7
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 8
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 9
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 10
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NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 12
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