Seniors safety tips

Your health and your home mean a lot to you, so its important to protect them. The Calgary Fire Department is ready to help. We offer fire safety advice often right in your neighbourhood. Our firefighters are trained to identify the signs and symptoms of an at-risk senior, and help them connect to needed resources. We want to make sure that you, your loved ones and pets stay safe and healthy in the community.

• Be sure to have one working smoke alarm on every level of your home.
• Smoke alarms should be installed outside all sleeping areas.
• Test smoke alarms once a month (try using a broom handle to test smoke alarms).
• Change batteries in smoke alarms once a year.
• Have working lights outside the front and back entrances of your home.
• Have an escape plan with two ways out of every room.
• If you live in an apartment building, count the number of doorways between your apartment and the two nearest exits (you may need to escape in the dark).
• Know how to unlock doors and windows, any security barred window should be equipped with quick-release devices.
• If you are trapped, close doors between you and the smoke, stuff rags or towels in the cracks around the doors to keep the smoke out. Wait at a window and signal the firefighters by waving a light colour cloth, turning the lights in your home or a flashlight on and off.
• Practice your home escape plan.
• Crawl low under smoke.
• Keep stove surfaces free of clutter and grease build up.
• Never leave cooking unattended.
• Set a kitchen timer to remind you to turn off burners and the oven.
• Wear clothes with tight fitting sleeves.
• If your clothes are on fire: Stop Drop and Roll.
• Provide smokers with large, deep, non-tip ashtrays and empty them by wetting the contents before dumping
• Never smoke in bed or while drinking alcohol
• Oxygen used at home improperly can cause fires
• Keep oxygen containers upright and at least 10 feet away from heat and open flames.
• Be familiar with emergency services available through calling 9-1-1 such as: Calgary Police Service, Calgary Fire Department, Hazardous Materials Spills and Emergency Medical Services.

Source: https://www.calgary.ca/csps/fire/safety-tips/safety-tips-seniors/seniors-safety-tips.html