The fire service is made up of problem solvers. We get a call, we respond, we mitigate a problem, and we return to quarters. There are some calls that will take a more calculated approach and may take hours or even days to resolve, but those calls come less frequently. Reaching out to the community to effect behavioral change is something that takes a lot of planning, coordination, and repetition. Seeing measurable change can take months or even years. Unfortunately, many departments have abandoned the initiative and have moved on to the next problem that they have identified. According to the U.S. Census Bureau-2010 American Community Survey, the estimated population of foreign-born residents (i.e., not a U.S. citizen at birth) is roughly 40 million, representing 13 percent of the total U.S. population, measurable in every state, ranging from just over one percent in West Virginia to 27 percent in California. According to the report, one in four residents in California and one in five residents in New York and New Jersey were identified as foreign born.
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