Development of Fire Safety Resources for At-Risk Families and Children

This is a Notice of Intent to award a non-competitive contract to Safe Kids Worldwide, located at 1301 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20004. The United States Fire Administration (USFA), in coordination with fire service organizations, has maintained a continuous program of support to develop and distribute fire safety educational resources for caregivers and teachers of the at-risk population of children. The proposed action is for services for which the Government intends to solicit and negotiate under the authority of FAR 6.302-1, only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. For over 20 years, Safe Kids has developed fire prevention strategies that work in the real world-conducting public outreach and awareness campaigns, stimulating hands-on grassroots activity, and working to make injury prevention a public policy priority. Safe Kids is in a unique position to support this effort because they have a network of over 600 coalitions and chapters in 49 states and the District of Columbia that bring together health and safety experts, educators, corporations, foundations, organizations, government and volunteers to educate and protect children and families. Safe Kids educates families, provides safety devices to families in need and advocates for better laws to help keep children safe, healthy and out of the emergency room. The purpose of the contract is to procure services to develop a fire safety program model to include fire safety educational resources, including a strategic action plan, to implement a community-wide coordinated effort across fire safety partners to reach at-risk populations and provide expanded and improved technical assistance to all the coalitions as part of a new USFA initiative, Fire is Everyone's Fight. The Safe Kids' Start Safe Program, which is a free program for pre-schoolers, their parents and teachers, provides a bi-lingual educational toolkit filled with resources to help teach fire safety. Start Safe will be a core component in the development and testing of the model program. The contractor will be required to work with its fire safety partners in three specific states that have been identified by the USFA's National Fire Data Center as being in the top 10 states with the highest child (age 14 and under) fire deaths per million population. Fire is Everyone's Fight is designed to unite the fire service and many others in a collaborative effort to reduce home fire injuries, deaths, and property loss. It invites fire departments, safety advocates, community groups, schools and others to rally behind a common and compelling theme. USFA and its partners will communicate and reinforce key lessons across many proven fire safety and prevention initiatives and programs. The contractor must be able to meet the following core capabilities required for this requirement. The contractor must have: - Comprehensive knowledge of fire and life safety messages, programs and resources for the at-risk population of children ages 14 and under; - Knowledge of key educational messaging and distribution mechanisms to reach the at-risk population of children ages 14 and under; and, - Working knowledge of implementing protocols and systems designed to share fire and life safety educational messages and resources to the public. Requirements: - Experience in developing fire prevention strategies and in conducting public outreach and awareness campaigns to reach the at-risk population of children ages 14 and under - Existing data on high risk of fire and burn related injuries to young children - Existing mechanisms/protocols to deliver messages, information, and materials to the public and the at-risk population of children ages 14 and under - Experience in assessing fire and burn prevention needs of high-risk populations and in developing new materials to target them - Existing network of fire and life safety professionals, educators, organizations, and volunteers that provide technical and subject matter expertise and facilitate information exchange The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has determined that the SAFE KIDS is uniquely qualified to perform this work due to their ability to meet all the requirements listed above, their wide, deep, and broad distribution system - a network of over 600 coalitions and chapters in 49 states and the District of Columbia; and their ability to provide outreach, awareness and educational support services, through their long-standing established coalitions and chapters who have assisted them in testing and delivering fire safety programs targeted to at-risk children under age 14 to help prevent injury or accidental death by fire. Interested organizations may submit their capabilities and qualifications demonstrating their ability to provide these services via email to Kim Logue no later than 11:00 a.m. Local Time on August 25, 2012. Email address for receipt of capabilities and qualifications is kim.logue@fema.dhs.gov and charles.tama@fema.dhs.gov. Capabilities/qualifications will be evaluated solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct this procurement on a competitive basis. A determination not to compete this proposed procurement based on responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. This Notice of Intent is NOT a Request for Quotation (RFQ) for competitive quotation/proposals. Contracting Office: DHS/FEMA/NETC Building D, Room 113 16825 South Seton Avenue Emmitsburg, MD 21727 Place of Performance: Contractor's Facility Classification Code: U009 NAICS Code: 611710