Northwest Fire District is implementing new kits aimed to be inclusive and accommodating for the community.
The Multi Incident Coping (MIC) Kits are a passion project for NWFD’s Fire and Life Safety Educator Amy Allen. She has been working on the kits for the last few years, telling me she personally understands the effect the tools in the kits can have.
“I have a son on the autism spectrum and so I know for him, just being in different situations, I found that he was really struggling,” Allen said.
So she worked to find items that can help with different people’s needs.
The MIC Kits include:
- Dry Erase Board and Markers
- Chalk
- Blanket
- Noise Reducing Headphones
- Pain/Emotion Scale
- Fidget Toys
Allen said, “If they’re running into a family member that is struggling, this kit is designed to just provide different resources for them.”
Josie Morgan is a Community Assistance Program Responder with NWFD and explained the need they see for resources like these. Morgan said, “We may be on scene with someone who is in a traumatic experience and at that time they may not be able to focus on what’s going on and we totally understand that may be the case.”
However, now they hope these new resources will help in situations like that.
“So if there’s something that we can provide a member of our community to maybe help them to relax or to help to calm them, I want to make sure that is available,” Allen said.
The Multi Incident Coping Kits are being implemented this month within their Public Education and Community Assistance Programs.
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Madison Thomas joined KGUN 9 in July of 2023 as a multimedia journalist. She graduated from Arizona State University in May of 2023 with a degree in journalism and mass communication. She has lived in Arizona her entire life and grew up in Douglas. Madison is thrilled to share the stories from the community she grew up in. Share your story ideas and important issues with Madison by emailing madison.thomas@kgun9.com or by connecting on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.
