The Mill City Times Interview: Captain Casidy Anderson, Community Risk Reduction Officer at Minneapolis Fire Department

Article by Becky Fillinger

Emergency response teams can’t work from home. A global pandemic doesn’t keep fires from starting and dedicated municipal workers must respond. Last week’s Central Avenue fire required Minneapolis Fire Department firefighters to work long hours to extinguish the fire. Mayor Jacob Frey calls the MFD "indispensable" in tragedies we see every week and during extraordinary circumstances, like the coronavirus outbreak.

One of the MFD’s dedicated staff is Casidy Anderson, Staff Captain and Community Risk Reduction Officer. We spoke to Captain Anderson about her role in the Minneapolis Fire Department.

Left to right - FMO (driver) Aaron Banks, Captain Sean Churchill-Weekes, Firefighter Milagros Ramos, and Captain Anderson

MCT:  What do your day to day activities consist of?

CA:  The job title “Community Risk Reduction Officer” started replacing “Fire Safety and Prevention Educator” in many fire departments about 15 years ago. The reason for this is because firefighters typically respond to more than just fires – in fact, the number of fires that we respond to has gone down significantly over the years. In addition to fires, firefighters respond to medical calls, hazardous material spills, vehicle accidents, specialized rescues, emergencies in the water (such as lakes and rivers), and much more! For that reason, the typical “fire educator” now educates the public not only on fire safety and fire prevention, but also other topics such as emergency preparedness, slip and fall prevention, evacuation planning, and sometimes basic medical-skill training such as first-aid and CPR. We teach “risk reduction” skills to reduce injury and loss from many types of accidents and disasters.

Much of my job from day to day requires interfacing with the public: classroom visits teaching kids about fire safety and fire prevention, fire station tours for groups of all ages, speaking events and businesses, tabling with information at community events, talking to tenants in multi-unit high-rises, and more.

The umbrella of the job has widened significantly over the years. Not long before I took this position, the job was strictly about teaching young children about fire safety and fire prevention. Fast forward to today - our outreach includes children, adults, businesses, faith communities and more!

With COVID-19, I am now working entirely remotely, trying to reach out to people via newsletter, email, sharing best practices from local and far away communities, dropping activity books off at places for kids and families to access, and other tasks that minimize interacting face-to-face with the public.

I’ve started the process of seeing how firefighters in the stations can read a story book to children via video – either in real time or pre-recorded. I’ll let the Mill City Times know in advance of the storybook scheduling. COVID-19 is definitely challenging us to think outside the box and be creative and innovative with our outreach!

MCT:  Regarding the COVID-19 pandemic – any advice or tips you’d like to offer readers?

CA:  We’ve all heard the basic things many times – the recommendations by the CDC are to stay home as much as possible, wash hands frequently and maintain social-distancing. The CDC and health departments are the experts on this subject, so turn to them for the best information!

I am not shifting over to COVID-19 activities exclusively. I’m still focusing on fire prevention and other risk-reduction outreach; however, I will include updated tips to stay healthy during COVID-19 as part of that outreach. I’ll be taking information from the CDC and Minnesota health departments in that messaging.

That being said, a few people had contacted me wondering what they as a community could do to help – and it’s such a catch-22 because we all want to help, and yet the directive to “stay home” makes it difficult! So, I started looking at what other communities are doing – particularly on the east and west coasts where the virus is a bigger problem. Here is one of the articles I found when researching how neighbors, friends, and families can help each other out during this time. To help vulnerable neighbors, someone suggested having a shared spreadsheet where neighbors/friends/etc. could log what some basic needs are, and then people could take on one of those items and sign up to help. For example, let’s say my elderly neighbor needs house supplies. I could list that need on the spreadsheet, and someone could adopt that need and when they are at the store, pick up a few items for that neighbor, and drop it at their front door. Maybe another neighbor has a vulnerable immune system or an underlying medical issue and cannot leave their home. It’s a start at looking out for one another.

Captain Anderson leading a fire station tour with a group of Head Start families in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood.MCT:  Do you target any special groups or demographics for risk reduction?

CA:  Yes. I am deliberate about reaching out to our immigrant population, people with disabilities, and people in transition - such as those moving from shelters to independent living. For example, imagine living in a country where you’ve never used a modern stove or oven, and moving here where everything is different, including how you cook! Unattended cooking (stepping away from the stovetop when it’s on) is the #1 cause of home fires. Teaching people how to cook safely prevents a lot of fires! Or imagine being deaf or hard-of-hearing and living in a home that does not have appropriate smoke-alarms with strobe lights or alerting devices to wake you when you’re asleep. It’s important that we reach out to people who are at higher risk for fires, and I’m thoughtful about that.

MCT:  Are there any blind spots in the city’s risk focus that warrant additional attention or modification?

CA:  That is something I try to take time to analyze year to year. In general, the top causes of fires and fire-related injury and death have remained consistent for decades (both nationally and locally): #1 cause of fires are unattended cooking – which is 100% preventable by just being more careful in the kitchen. The #1 cause of fire-related death is falling asleep with a cigarette (although in the last few years unsafe heating, such as space heaters left on too long or too close to something, have vied for that #1 spot). That being said, it’s important to look at the data from year to year to see if there are any trends happening that we should focus on to keep people safe.

MCT:  Who is accountable for results in your work?

CA:  It’s a team effort! Although we have a small team of people who are assigned to “community risk reduction” as their primary job – myself and my colleague David Carson, who was just added to this position earlier this year (prior to that it was just me) – we rely on the fire station personnel to help with community events, station tours, and even school visits. The MN State Fire Marshal Office leads the charge to connect all the fire department community risk reduction specialists in the State of Minnesota. We have regular meetings and share ideas and resources.

But people in risk-reduction collaborate across jurisdictional boundaries as well. I’m part of several teams of people whose primary job is prevention and risk reduction. We all collaborate on some level to help and support each other: Minneapolis Police, Health, Regulatory Services, Emergency Management; as well as networks of people from other cities and states.

MCT:  How do you work with neighborhood associations?

CA:  I rely a lot on partnerships with MPD Crime Prevention Specialists to connect with neighborhood associations. They send out fire-related safety information for me as needed. I’m also available to speak at neighborhood association meetings, and have been invited to do that, particularly when there is a pressing fire-related concern in the neighborhood. Minneapolis Communications handles most notices to the neighborhood associations.

MCT:  Do you hold Zoom meetings (or other free videoconferencing) with citizens?

CA:  I have not held Zoom meetings as part of this job. However, with COVID-19 I have attended more Zoom meetings in the last two weeks than I have in my entire 20-year career with MFD! I anticipate holding Zoom meetings as part of my outreach if the directive to social-distance and stay at home continues for a while.

MCT:  Is your department more concerned with risk prevention or mitigation?

CA:  MFD prioritizes both prevention and mitigation. Prevention is incredibly important, because most fires can be prevented by teaching people about the causes of fires, and safer habits that lead to less fires. Although I stated that the #1 cause of fires is unattended cooking, to be specific, the #1 cause is PEOPLE. People cooking carelessly. People leaving the candle burning when they leave the house. People discarding a cigarette, still hot, into a pile of dry brush. If we can teach people to have safer habits, we will reduce fires drastically and we have seen the number of fires drop with these efforts. But mitigation is incredibly important too! The MFD is prepared to respond to every fire, medical, and hazardous emergency that we are called to. We are the biggest fire department in the State of Minnesota, serving the largest population, and our response times are incredibly fast. We want the public to have a toolbox of prevention knowledge and empower them to be safe at home and at work, but when emergencies happen, know that MFD will be there quickly!

MCT:  Thank you Captain Anderson for your time and commitment!

CA:  Thank you for sharing our story. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

-  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  - 

About Becky Fillinger

I’ve been a resident of the Mill District only since July 2019, but have visited the Guthrie, the Farmers Market, restaurants and friends in the area for many years prior to making the leap to Minneapolis. I’ve lived in many places (and climates) in the US and can testify that our cultural events, bicycle and hiking trails, parks and green spaces, museums, diverse neighborhoods and wonderful restaurants put Minnesota and Minneapolis high on my best places list. I’m a member of the Mill City Singers and look forward to our choir practices and performances.

One of my main interests is community - a very broad concept. For me it means bringing people together with common interests to form meaningful relationships. I look forward to reporting on businesses and individuals in our neighborhoods. Feel free to drop me an email at becky_fillinger@hotmail.com with your thoughts and ideas for stories.