The National City Fire Department has teamed with the Burn Institute of San Diego to proactively save the lives of seniors in case of a fire.
The institute’s fire alarm program is aimed at installing smoke detectors for seniors 62 years of age and older who live in an owner-occupied home in the community with any income level.
“One of the easiest ways someone can prevent themselves from being injured by fire, home fire in particular, is to have a working smoke alarm in their home,” said Susan Day, executive director for the Burn Institute.
The Burn Institute is a nonprofit organization with funding for programs such as the fire alarm program coming from fundraisers and donations.
The institute created postcards advertising the program that firefighters distribute when they are out in the community.
Once a senior calls for a smoke alarm, the Burn Institute provides the fire department with a smoke alarm and the necessary tools for installation.
The National City Fire Department in turn has local service clubs such as Kiwanis or Rotary install the life-saving devices.
“What we do is we train the volunteers on how to install the smoke alarms, proper location, placement, where not to put them, where are they recommended to be placed,” said Frank Parra, National City’s director of emergency services. “And then we would go out to a home take down what’s there and install a new smoke detector or smoke alarm,”
According to statistics compiled by the Burn Institute, a smoke alarm reduces the risk of a person dying in a house fire by 50 percent.
Statistics also indicate that adults age 65 and older are two times more likely to die in a home fire than any segment of the population and for those over age 75 that risk nearly triples.
“It’s been statistically proven that the elderly are more prone to suffer from a fire, loss of life whether it be smoke inhalation or fire itself because they either don’t have a smoke detector or they have a malfunctioning detector,” Parra said.
Parra said the installation of new fire alarms only makes residents safer.
“We just see this as one more opportunity to help the community to prevent that loss of life,” he said.
“If we can prevent the loss of a life by the simple installation of a smoke alarm that’s what we want to do.”
