The Houston Fire Department Public Affairs Division is divided into the following sections:
Chaplain - The Chaplain includes an Advisory Council to guide the Chaplain program; a Chaplain to provide counsel and guidance to Houston Fire Department employees; funeral director to plan funeral services and volunteer chaplains to assist the Chaplain and department.
Houston Fire Museum - The Houston Fire Museum operates as a non-profit tax-exempt organization administered by a volunteer Board of Directors. The corporation acts as a support group for the Houston Fire Department to assist in the preservation, operation and expansion of the facility.
FireStoppers - Nationally, and in Houston, juvenile firesetting continues to grow as the number one crime among youth with a 39 percent increase in Houston in the last two years. The FireStoppers' goal is to provide the proper education for each child that has played with or has set fires to stop the fire setting before it leads to further injury, death, homeless families or problems with the law.
Public Information Office - This division serves as the department's "voice" and liaison to the community. Division staff effectively provide accurate and timely information to the public. It is the responsibility of all staff members to build a strong rapport with the news media and to portray a professional image at all times.
This office also schedules fire truck tours and visits, for more information click here.
These sections combine efforts to increase the public's awareness and knowledge of fire-safety and the fire service. They accomplish this by coordinating and planning monthly activities and programs targeting individual neighborhoods. The goal is to make firefighters more "visible" to the community so they are not just seen when tragedy occurs. In addition, Public Affairs generates more effective methods of internal/external communication.
Overall, the Public Affairs Division is seeking to make its programs more diverse, focusing in and responding to special needs in the community. While fire safety and fire prevention education remains a vital necessity, the demand for injury prevention programs are also being addressed. Our goal is to concentrate on what communities are lacking in education and how the Houston Fire Department can assist.
