Learn & Share Public Education Seminar 

The Fire Marshal’s Public Fire Safety Council in partnership with the Toronto Fire Services is pleased to offer an invitation to our One-day FREE Public Education Seminar to all Ontario fire departments.

Continental Breakfast and Lunch hosted by Enbridge Gas Distribution Inc.

Important: Registration is limited to 100 Participants.

Guest Speakers 

Lauren Backstrom

Title: Using Social Media to Better Reach & Engage Your Audiences

If you're not using social media to promote home fire safety, you're missing out on linking important messages to large audiences. Learn NFPA®'s tactics for promoting the fire problem in today's homes, safety information that educates audiences and even news updates that inform the media. Learn how to entice people to not only "like" your content but also take action, and to develop strategies on where and what to post on social media.

Biography: Lauren has planned and executed the social media strategy for NFPA over the past 6 years as the organization’s Social Media Manager.  During this time she has greatly expanded NFPA’s social audiences and their engagement level, including a 1,600% increase in Facebook followers. She works hard to keep on top of the latest trends which is essential to keeping up with the ever-changing social media landscape. Her role has also allowed her to teach and assist numerous fire service groups on their own social efforts during that time.

Pat Folliott

 Title:  Communicating at the Grassroots:  How to’s, Do’s and Don’ts

 Thinking up new ways to get fire and carbon monoxide safety  messages into your community can be a creative, fun and  rewarding part of your job.  But ideas are the easy part.  It is how  you bring them to life that makes the difference between success or  failure.  This is the strategic part of pub ed … where WHAT you want  to say intersects with WHO you want to talk to and HOW you are  going to say it.  In this session, Pat Folliott will share valuable tips to  help guide your future campaigns.   

 Biography: Pat’s career in marketing spans 35 years.  A journalist  by training, he has worked as a writer, editor, photographer,  creative director, media trainer, event planner and communications  strategist.   A stint at a major PR firm inspired him to buy his own small agency which he steered into database marketing.  His company grew seven-fold – launching Air Miles and other loyalty programs - before being acquired by a major US agency.  Since then Pat has been guiding the national partnership and marketing activities for Kidde, the country’s #1 smoke and carbon monoxide alarm manufacturer.  

Shayne Mintz

Topic:  National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Public Education Resources and Programs 

This presentation will cover in general terms what the NFPA has to offer organizationally, but a great deal of emphasis will focus on NFPA’s Public Education information, resources and programs they offer to the fire services and other public education stakeholders and partners.

Biography:  Shayne Mintz has over 38 years’ experience in fire and emergency services and has worked in all aspects of fire and life safety.  Shayne is a career firefighter and retired from the fire service as Chief of the Burlington Fire Department.

Shayne has also served as the Assistant Deputy Fire Marshal responsible for Fire Protection Services for the Office of the Ontario Fire Marshal and is now the Canadian Regional Director for the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).

Eleanor Newman

Title:  Are People Hearing The Message?

The life experiences of different populations impact their capacity to understand and act upon information.  Values rooted in culture and significant events that occur influence how people think about issues and challenges.  Effective communication relies on our understanding the other – the person or group – and recognizing the factors that foster or imped the capacity to act.   In the keynote, Eleanor will offer some frameworks for thinking about effective interactions with others.

 Biography:  During her career in education, Eleanor served as elementary music teacher, program coordinator, instructor of teacher, writer of curriculum and support documents, principal and supervisory officer qualification courses, supervisory officer in school boards, and senior official with the Ministry of Education.  She currently serves as the part-time Executive Director of the Eastern Ontario Staff Development Network providing regional opportunities for educator learning.  Eleanor has a long-standing appreciation for and commitment to the work of the Fire Service, particularly fire safety and prevention.