Children and elders in the family are the most vulnerable group in a family. They need to be given special attention and take care of in case of fire accidents. Well laid out evacuation plans can fail if these groups are not trained properly. Elders are at a higher risk because their mobility gets impaired with advancing age. Hence, they should be given proper fire safety training and proper precautions should be taken for them.

While many elders get offended if this fact is mentioned to them, data show that more than half of the people who lose their lives in fire accidents belong to the age group of 65 and above. This information should be shared with this group and they should be sensitized about the need of fire safety precautions.

Why Elderly are at More Risk?

With increasing age many of our faculties and senses do not perform to the optimum. Therefore, the chances of meeting with accidents and not responding appropriately in case of accidents increase. In case, an elder member of the family is on medication, they will not be able to sense the danger immediately and their response time will be very slow.

Also, if members of family are confined to bed, they will need help in difficult situations. There might be a problem due to physical impairment or loss of eyesight or hearing. The mental agility to take quick action like switching off power in case of fire is also limited. Such situations put elderly at a very high risk of getting hurt in fire accidents.

In case, elders are staying alone and they are not able to reach for help in time, the damage will be more. Many a times elders stay in the same house for a long period of time and old houses are at higher risk due to damage to wiring or other electrical equipment. Work in kitchen with unstable hands or unfamiliar appliances also create danger.

Steps to Ensure Fire Safety for Elders

Few precautions and reminders can make a house safer for elders:

• Make sure that you leave notes that remind them to switch off electric appliances and turn off has when not in use
• Use advanced smoke detectors that can detect smoke quickly and fix these detectors with very loud alarms so that elders with hearing impairment can hear them
• You can also put alarms in a way that neighbours can hear any distress signals and provide help
• Do not keep old appliances in the house and change any loose wiring as soon as you spot one
• Keep a note near ash trays to ensure that cigarettes are put out properly
• Prohibit smoking in bed and carpeted areas as far as possible
• Do not keep appliances in wet areas and avoid use of heaters in such areas as well
• Suggest elders that they should not leave gas and stove unattended at all
• Keep a loud alarm bell that can be used by people who cannot move on their own or by those who need help in making quick exits