TINA GORMAN
WESTFIELD – In March of this year, the Council On Aging in partnership with the Westfield Fire Department embarked on an ambitious fire prevention and safety program for the City’s older adults. With support from Mayor Knapik, Patrick Berry and the Westfield News staff, City Councilor Agma Sweeney and the Westfield Spanish American Association, Highland Valley Elder Services, local businesses, and continued guidance from the Office of the State Fire Marshal, Westfield’s “Retire the Fire!” program has become a statewide model. Fire Departments throughout the Commonwealth are implementing the program based on Westfield’s successful, collaborative effort. Last week, the Public Education Administrator for the New Hampshire Office of the State Fire Marshal requested copies of our “Retire the Fire!” materials for distribution to seniors throughout that State. The name Westfield has become synonymous with senior fire safety across state boundaries.
Locally, the “Retire the Fire!” program will be replicated in its entirety in March. However, fire prevention and safety for our City’s older adults is an ongoing effort. Of the eighteen older adults who died in Massachusetts fires in 2011, 50 percent died in their homes where either no alarms were present or alarms did not operate. Alarm batteries should be replaced twice a year and tested once a month. Smoke alarms themselves need to be replaced every ten years.
A good rule of thumb is to replace smoke and carbon monoxide detector batteries in the spring and in the fall when we change our clocks. With daylight saving time on the horizon this weekend, now is the perfect time to attend to this task. Unfortunately, many older adults cannot and should not replace the batteries themselves. Most detectors are installed in the ceiling of a room and the use of a ladder is necessary for battery replacement. For safety reasons, older adults should enlist the help of relatives, friends, and neighbors to change the batteries in their smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors. If such assistance is not available, seniors can call the Council On Aging at 562-6435 and a reliable volunteer will be recruited to help.
Tina Gorman
Executive Director
Westfield Council On Aging
