The New Zealand Fire Service Commission contracted MartinJenkins to undertake an evaluation of Firewise (Year One and Two), a school based fire safety programme. The primary purpose of the evaluation was to help the Commission to understand:
• how it may increase uptake of Firewise by schools not currently participating
• how Firewise is implemented and, therefore, identify what improvements can be made to programme delivery, and
• the extent to which Firewise contributes to children’s’ awareness of fire safety to help determine whether the programme is an effective investment.

This evaluation has found that the Firewise programme enjoys a high level of support and results in demonstrable benefits. However, there is room for improvement. We make a number of recommendations for improving uptake and delivery.