Senior Safety
Prepare Against Fire and Carbon Monoxide
§Install, maintain smoke alarms
–on all levels of a residence
–outside each sleeping area
–in bedrooms if sleeping
with door closed
§Install carbon monoxide detector
§Test alarms on schedule
§Display home address outside
§
Smoke alarms should be installed on every level of a home, outside each sleeping area, and in bedrooms whose occupants normally sleep with the door closed. Specially modified alarms are available for the hearing-impaired.
Since the majority of fires take place in homes lacking working smoke alarms, installing and/or maintaining them in homes which don’t yet have them is an important goal of community fire protection.
Carbon monoxide detectors are increasingly recommended as standard safety devices in the home. Experience of their life-saving value is increasing.   Most deaths in fires are caused by the inhalation of carbon monoxide and other toxic products of smoke, not burns.
Both types of alarms should be tested at the recommended frequency.
The address number of the home should be painted on the curb and  displayed prominently on a front step, porch pillar or  front door. This could save crucial seconds for firefighters or emergency medical personnel.
(Bridge)  Once the alarms have sounded, you need a way to escape the fire.  What should be included in your home’s fire escape plan?