News and Knowledge

When Dwight Good became Morgan Hill’s (Calif.) fire marshal, the official who creates and enforces safety laws for the community, he was putting his passion to work, fulfilling an interest that began seven years ago when he began studying to fill gaps in his department’s fire prevention safety education capabilities. Today, Good describes himself as a cheerleader, technical consultant, educator, and advocate for fire safety.

He joined the fire service 22 years ago because he was new to the area and thought it would be a good way to make friends. “I never considered it as a career. Six months later, I fought my first house fire and knew I’d found my calling in life. I was drawn to the fire service by the camaraderie – the sense of family and the bonds of the service are still very significant to me. I stayed for the excitement, the challenges, and the opportunity to give something back to the community.”

In 2010, Good developed an awareness program for fire fighters and emergency medical responders to “help them recognize and respond appropriately to people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) during crisis events.” While his wife, who is a teacher, was working on her autism spectrum credential, Good was looking for a research project for the Executive Fire Officer program.

“Her studies intrigued me. My research indicated that there was definitely room for improvement in our capacity to serve this population during emergencies. The challenge in creating the program was that most of the people firefighters and emergency personnel deal with are having a really bad day. If you add having an autism diagnosis on top of that, the responses may be unexpected at best. I try to ensure the most positive outcomes possible for everyone.

“Before I had completed my research project and released the awareness program, my engine company responded to a medical emergency involving the caretaker for a teenage boy with ASD. In typical fashion, we invaded the home: three firefighters and two members of an ambulance crew, all with radios blaring and the chirps, hisses, and beeps of electronic medical equipment. We filled the home with burly, question-asking, hands-on strangers focused on a single task: identify and treat the medical needs of our patient.”

None of the first responders knew the young man had ASD. Good noticed that he was getting anxious and agitated. As Good realized that he was seeing stimming behavior, one of the firefighters became confrontational. “This young man’s behavior was unexpected, and without the necessary training or experience to recognize the situation for what it was, the firefighter responded predictably: the young male resident of the home was large enough to be a problem, and his agitated behavior made him a potential threat.”

Good told everyone but the paramedic attending to the caregiver to leave, and he and the paramedic turned their radios down. Good asked the young man to tell him about his pet parrot, which helped to calm him, and he also asked the boy to tell him if there was someone else who could come and stay with him. Afterward, Good relates, “I took my company back to the station and explained exactly what had happened and why. I then invited the ambulance crew over to the fire station for dinner that night and presented my training program for the first time.”

Since then, Good says he has made about a dozen presentations of his program and then “turned it loose for distribution.” Two months later, his training was available for all emergency medical services providers in that county. Six months after that, it was available to all emergency medical services providers in a four-county area and later to the entire state.

Good advises parents to be proactive when it comes to safety. “Talk to your local fire service. Ask them for help; get to know them; arrange nonthreatening, nonemergency interactions for your child with your public safety personnel. You are not alone. Public safety personnel are there to help you. We will have to learn together in many cases. Help them understand. Be patient, ask questions.”

Filling the Gap for Kids with Special Needs

That might have been the end of the story. But it was really the beginning in many ways for Good and for the young people he hopes to help. “Every firefighter is trained to deliver basic fire safety and prevention messages to children,” Good notes. They are not trained to provide specialized education tailored to children with special needs, however. “What those children need from us is different. The more I learned, the more I studied, and the more passionate I got. I met really neat people along the way. I didn’t realize how great the needs were until I started doing research and getting involved.”

One of the most remarkable experiences for Good, he says, was helping a teacher prepare her class of pre-kindergarten and kindergarten student with ASD for a routine fire drill. He spent a few hours a week in the classroom for six weeks and notes that he probably should have spent eight. “I was not prepared for was the level of patience and repetition that would be necessary to prepare these children to respond appropriately to the fire alarm.” But he and the teacher did it, and Good “watched anxiously as the children assembled at the door and walked in single file out to the assigned meeting place on the day of the drill. Even with six weeks of practice and some very clever instruction/job aids, we barely managed to pull it off.”

Witnessing this first hand, he says, “gave me a much deeper understanding of the challenges facing our special needs children and those who care for them. Experiences like this drive me to advocate for continued improvements in the fire and life safety codes.”

When a resident came to him looking for videos about safety for special needs kids, Good assumed he would be able to find them in the educational community. No luck. When he searched the Web, he discovered nothing that would fit the need. When he found OAR and asked staff, they told him they didn’t have the videos he wanted but they enlisted his help with a safety guide OAR was working on. He signed on as a contributor and reviewer, and OAR subsequently published the guide to good reviews last month.

That experience led to a project: creating a series of three- to five-minute videos specifically for middle and high school students and their caregivers to educate them about safety. Good envisions national availability through YouTube. “I know that making them will take some time. I have most of the components I need—the funding, the video crew, an editing studio, but I’m still looking for educators who can help me craft the content so that they are educationally appropriate. That’s not my background so I need help.”

The need Good has encountered and the experiences he has had have made him determined to get the videos made and into the hands of those who need them. “In my opinion, critical fire and life safety messages should not come with a hefty price tag. We intend to produce/distribute this program for free.”

If you are an educator who can help Good with his video project, you can get in touch with him by phone (408-310-4654) or email  (dwight.good@fire.ca.gov).