Before planning a fire prevention intervention, what should a health education specialist determine about the community?

Determining the population at risk is crucial before planning a fire prevention intervention because it allows health education specialists to identify those most vulnerable to fire hazards. This involves understanding demographic factors such as age, socioeconomic status, and living conditions, which can significantly influence a community's risk of fire incidents. By pinpointing this population, the specialist can tailor the intervention to effectively address their specific needs and challenges, ensuring the strategies developed are relevant and impactful.

In the context of fire prevention, knowing who is at risk enables targeted outreach and education efforts. For instance, vulnerable populations might include children, the elderly, or individuals in low-income housing lacking appropriate safety measures. Additionally, this knowledge helps in resource allocation, ensuring that the most at-risk groups receive the necessary information and tools to prevent fire-related emergencies.

Other options, while having their importance in different contexts, do not provide as direct and actionable insights for designing a fire prevention program. Life expectancy may offer general community health insights but does not directly correlate with fire risks. A point source epidemic curve is typically used in epidemiology to track disease outbreaks rather than fire incidents, and the odds ratio is a statistic that evaluates associations between exposures and outcomes rather than community-specific factors relevant to fire prevention. Thus, focusing on the population