Fire Safety For Older Adults
With the advance of Fall comes the increased focus on fire prevention.
Winter months are known to increase home fire risks.
This October 7th - 13th is fire prevention week.
A family's chance of surviving a residential fire is literally doubled when the home in question has working smoke alarms.
96% of American homes do have smoke alarms but 20% of those have either missing or worn out batteries.
That translates into roughly 25 million homes that are severely at risk for residential fire fatalities.
Every year, nearly 3,000 Americans die in residential fires.
One of America's most effective fire safety campaigns to date has been the 'Change Your Clock, Change Your Battery' program.
Sponsored by the IAFC and Energizer, this program will mark its 25th anniversary this year! The program is designed to educate everyone on the importance of simple life saving maintenance.
Remind your friends and family to change their batteries when they change their clocks on November 4th.
A great way for individuals or businesses to give back to the community at large can include helping at risk community members, such as the elderly or those with limited mobility to change batteries.
Smoke is a mix of particles and gas made by fire.
Smoke alarms can warn you of this deadly mix before you can see, hear or smell it.
The elderly (65+) are generally twice more likely to die in residential fires than America's population as a whole.
Individuals who are eighty-five years of age or older are four times as likely to perish in a residential fire.
Older adults also have the greatest risk of fire related injuries.
There should be special consideration taken for individuals who are hard of hearing, hearing impaired or otherwise compromised in regards to hearing or responding to a traditional smoke alarm set up.
Many alternative means of smoke detection alerting are available.
These can include sirens, strobe lights, vibrating pagers etc.
Fire prevention tools for the elderly are also readily available.
Stove Guard units which can be installed on either gas or electric ovens and stove tops can help prevent kitchen fires.
Kitchen fires are the most common type of household fire.
These fires often begin when a pan is left unattended on the stove.
Stove Guard units are programmed to automatically turn off the stove or oven when lack of movement in the immediate kitchen area has been detected.
All of these components are minimal in cost and can save the lives of friends and family.
So, this October, keep fire prevention for yourself, friends and family as well as those in your community well in mind.
Winter months are known to increase home fire risks.
This October 7th - 13th is fire prevention week.
A family's chance of surviving a residential fire is literally doubled when the home in question has working smoke alarms.
96% of American homes do have smoke alarms but 20% of those have either missing or worn out batteries.
That translates into roughly 25 million homes that are severely at risk for residential fire fatalities.
Every year, nearly 3,000 Americans die in residential fires.
One of America's most effective fire safety campaigns to date has been the 'Change Your Clock, Change Your Battery' program.
Sponsored by the IAFC and Energizer, this program will mark its 25th anniversary this year! The program is designed to educate everyone on the importance of simple life saving maintenance.
Remind your friends and family to change their batteries when they change their clocks on November 4th.
A great way for individuals or businesses to give back to the community at large can include helping at risk community members, such as the elderly or those with limited mobility to change batteries.
Smoke is a mix of particles and gas made by fire.
Smoke alarms can warn you of this deadly mix before you can see, hear or smell it.
The elderly (65+) are generally twice more likely to die in residential fires than America's population as a whole.
Individuals who are eighty-five years of age or older are four times as likely to perish in a residential fire.
Older adults also have the greatest risk of fire related injuries.
There should be special consideration taken for individuals who are hard of hearing, hearing impaired or otherwise compromised in regards to hearing or responding to a traditional smoke alarm set up.
Many alternative means of smoke detection alerting are available.
These can include sirens, strobe lights, vibrating pagers etc.
Fire prevention tools for the elderly are also readily available.
Stove Guard units which can be installed on either gas or electric ovens and stove tops can help prevent kitchen fires.
Kitchen fires are the most common type of household fire.
These fires often begin when a pan is left unattended on the stove.
Stove Guard units are programmed to automatically turn off the stove or oven when lack of movement in the immediate kitchen area has been detected.
All of these components are minimal in cost and can save the lives of friends and family.
So, this October, keep fire prevention for yourself, friends and family as well as those in your community well in mind.
