ollowing are some of the most commonly asked questions and answers about NFPA's Risk Watch program.

What is Risk Watch?

Risk Watch is the first comprehensive injury prevention program designed for use in classrooms. Linking teachers with community safety experts and parents, Risk Watch effectively teaches kids and their families the skills and knowledge they need to be safe from the areas they're at greatest risk to unintentional injuries.

The Risk Watch curriculum is divided into five teaching modules (Pre-K/Kindergarten, Grades 1-2, Grades 3-4, Grades 5-6, and Grades 7-8), each of which addresses the following topics:

Risk Watch was designed for maximum flexibility so that injury prevention can be taught as a stand-alone unit or easily integrated into core curriculum subjects such as health, language arts, or physical education. Each module includes eight lesson cards that feature a lesson plan with objectives, preparation, and materials needed, as well as step-by-step procedures to conduct a focused classroom activity. The modules also contain: a set of warm-up exercises and tips to help students step into character roles; cross-age learning activities; evaluation instruments; and a series of fun activities designed to help students practice their injury prevention skills.

Why focus on unintentional injuries?

In the U.S., unintentional injuries are more fatal to children than drugs and disease combined, annually killing more than 5,500 kids and permanently disabling more than 92,000. In Canada, injuries are the leading cause of death for children over one year of age.

However, NFPA firmly believes that the traffic injuries, drownings, fires, scald burns, chokings, poisonings, and falls suffered by children each year are not random "accidents;" they are predictable and preventable. With education, motivation, and the support of caring adults, children can learn to be much safer.

Who developed Risk Watch?

Risk Watch was developed by National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) with input from a technical advisory group (TAG) comprised of North America's most authoritative injury prevention professionals. These experts have helped ensure that all information in the Risk Watch program is of the highest quality.

What is NFPA?

NFPA is a nonprofit, safety organization that has worked to protect the public from fire and other hazards for more than 100 years. As part of its mission, NFPA has developed public education curricula that teach specific safety messages to targeted age groups. For more than 20 years, NFPA's highly acclaimed Learn Not to Burn® programs have taught key fire safety messages to children in pre-K through grade 3; Remembering When™, NFPA's fall and fire prevention program, is geared toward older adults.

Why was Risk Watch developed by NFPA?

As the developer of fire safety education programs for more than 20 years, NFPA has long known what a powerful tool education can be. Building on its success with other fire and life safety education programs, NFPA expanded its scope to target the eight areas children are at greatest risk to injury, including fires and burns.

Does Risk Watch really work?

NFPA strongly believes in measuring and evaluating the impact of its educational curricula, as these "tests" are the only way to determine whether its programs truly impact target audiences. As a result, NFPA has worked to evaluate Risk Watch every step of the way - before, during, and after the curriculum's development.

NFPA has completed the third year of a three-year independent study on Risk Watch in six communities. Results of the study conducted by Interwest Applied Research, an external evaluation firm, show there is "indisputable evidence" that Risk Watch is effective in teaching important safety knowledge.

How is Risk Watch Used?

Risk Watch is primarily used by teachers in the classroom. However, the program is most typically introduced to schools and teachers by a coalition of local safety advocates, such as public educators from the fire department, public health department, and police department, and others who work collaboratively to implement Risk Watch locally. Once the program is used in the classroom, personnel from these departments actively support Risk Watch lessons through classroom visits and presentations.

What is an NFPA Champion/Champion Management Team (CMT)?

An NFPA Champion is a local safety advocate who applies for and receives grant funding from NFPA to implement and promote Risk Watch and/or other NFPA programs in their communities. Most recently, NFPA developed CMTs, which consist of cross-functional teams of state-level safety advocates who oversee implementation of Risk Watch in multiple communities.

What are Risk Watch "Saves" and "Successes?"

NFPA documents incidents in which children learned a safety behavior through the Risk Watch curriculum, and effectively used those skills to protect themselves and/or other people from a potentially life-threatening situation. Each of the people who benefited from a child's actions (including the child himself or herself) are referred to as "Saves". "Successes" are incidents in which a child's actions have reduced the danger of a potentially harmful situation. Teachers are encouraged to let NFPA know when your students put their Risk Watch skills to use so that we may acknowledge the student and others who helped establish Risk Watch in your community.