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Fire Safety And The Elderly
Fire safety and the elderly go hand-in-hand because out all the age group, this age group has the biggest risk of dying in a fire. Why is this? This is because elderly people are not able to take fast action required during a fire; it is quite possible that the elderly are on medication and this hampers their judgment; and finally because many elderly people prefer to live alone and if there is a fire, they are unable to call out for help or assistance. |
Why are fire safety and the elderly always clubbed together? This is a question many elderly constantly keep asking. They feel that the society does not trust them. However, this is not the case. Research has shown that most elderly Americans die due to cooking accidents at home; many elders and seniors in the US also die in home fires caused by electric heaters and wood stoves; older homes where the seniors continue living usually have faulty old wiring which ends up causing electrical fires.
Fire Safety and the Elderly:
By just following a few tips and using little caution, many elders and seniors can protect themselves from the hazards of home fires.
- Elders should take care never to leave the stove unattended when they are cooking. Usually many elders get distracted and they forget that they have left a pan or pot on the stove.
- If you are using space heaters, make you only buy those which are approved by Underwriter's Laboratory. You can figure this out with UL mark or tag on the heater. In addition, these electric heaters should not be used in any area of the house that has the tendency to get wet.
- One knows smoking in bet is extremely dangerous. More so for older people who often fall asleep without putting off the cigarette. It is important to ensure that before retiring to bed, you empty out your ashtray into a metal container so even if a cigarette is still lighted, it will not cause a fire while you are asleep.
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Fire Safety And The Elderly
Home safety is quite important for the elderly considering that life expectancy has increased dramatically in the last few decades. With increase in life expectancy comes many other issues like health problems, difficulty in moving around or possibility of getting injured. 
