NEW! Engineering Consultant for FEMA-Funded WUI Project
“Engineering Science for the Fire Service: Developing a WUI Risk Assessment & Mitigation Curriculum”
Project Description
The SFPE Foundation currently holds a FEMA Fire Prevention & Safety Grant (FY2021) to develop an engineering science-based educational curriculum for fire service personnel that helps address unmet training needs with respect to Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) fire risk assessment and mitigation. Fire protection engineers can offer educational tools and resources to help support fire departments in the field. These tools can be applied across the spectrum of WUI fire hazards – in areas like individual asset protection, community evacuation and notification, and community-level wildfire protection and mitigation. This project assesses fire department training needs in WUI fire property risk assessment and mitigation strategies that can be addressed with engineering-based resources and guidance, document best practices, develop an engineering-based curriculum for firefighters conducting WUI property risk assessment and developing mitigation strategies, and illustrate how the curriculum can reduce risk by addressing unmet training needs for a wide range of departments.
Earlier this year, the SFPE Foundation contracted the Mid-Atlantic Center for Emergency Management & Public Safety (MACEM&PS) to serve as the Curriculum Consultant for this project. They have developed a classroom-based training curriculum (including courses, course content, delivery methodology, and learning assessment) that introduces fire service personnel to engineering-based guidance and tools that can provide more nuanced guidance to fire departments conducting WUI property fire risk assessment and mitigation activities, especially in areas where existing codes, regulations, or tools are not locally contextualized. The curriculum covers the engineering science behind the risks associated with different asset and community configurations, structural components, configurations, and other features of the built environment in the WUI so that fire departments can adapt their approaches to better meet local needs.
In the next phase of the project, from May through mid-June, the Curriculum Consulting team will pilot the curriculum with a total of six fire departments located in CA, CO, ID, KY, MT, and one other state (to be named). We are seeking an experienced Engineering Consultant to evaluate the risk reduction potential of the training if implemented in communities across the country. The Engineering Consultant will attend all six pilot training demonstrations, and they will work closely with the Curriculum Consulting team, the Project Advisory Panel, and SFPE Foundation staff. They are expected to develop a plan for evaluating the training and estimating the potential for WUI property fire risk reduction as a result of training implementation (including quantitative and qualitative approaches); recommendations for areas of improvement with respect to the training (including recommending case study examples that show how engineering-based guidance can improve outcomes); and guidance on where (and with whom) we should prioritize offering the training to have the greatest impact.
We welcome proposals from groups or individuals. Up to $50,000 (USD) may be awarded.
Deadline for Submittals: 11:59 pm ET on Wednesday, April 12, 2023
Direct submissions and inquiries to Dr. Leslie Marshall, SFPE Foundation Director, at foundation@sfpe.org. No phone calls, please.
Download the full request for proposals, including instructions for submission, here:
DOWNLOAD THE RFP
RFP Amendment 1 - Tentative Pilot Dates:
(March 28, 2023) -- To assist respondents in developing their proposals, we are sharing the tentative dates for the six pilot trainings. These are subject to change depending on the availability of the fire departments. Once the Engineering Consultant is selected, they may also be involved in scheduling any dates that are not yet finalized (though we expect at least the in-person to be finalized in the next couple of weeks).
Pilot #1- May 9th (in-person training)
Pilot #2- May 16th (in-person training)
Pilot #3- June 6th (in-person training)
Pilot #4- June 13th (in-person training)
Pilot #5- TBD (virtual training likely – May or June)
Pilot #6- TBD (virtual training likely – May or June)