Question:
I am interested in forming a group in my department to teach fire and life safety through characterization. Any websites or info on getting started would be greatly appreciated.

Answer: Presuming you mean what used to be called "fire safety education through clowning", visit www.gfr.org . They have an SOG document for a very active clown alley that recently hosted the Southeast Clown Association Annual Convention. There are regular classes at www.fsfc.ufl.edu , the Florida State Fire College -- 40 hours (actually, many more hours outside classroom time) certification (counts as triennial CEU's for inspector re-certification). Hope this helps. Contact the webmasters for more information -- they'd be happy to help