Features Prevention
NFPA Impact: Steps to Safety reduces risk for older adults

Are there older adults in your community who are at risk of falls and fires?

Of course, there are. In fact, in a few years, even the youngest baby boomers will be 65 and at a higher risk than younger people of dying in a fire or ending up in long-term care after slipping in the bathroom.

The good news is that baby boomers are a healthier generation than their parents and grandparents – is 70 is the new 50? – and therefore are likely to live longer than their ancestors. But with age – even healthy aging – comes challenges, including mobility, an abundance of outdated belongings, inside and outdoor maintenance, cognitive ability, and the effects of medication.

Remarkably, the number of older adults in Canada is expected to double to 11 million by 2042.

The anticipated increase in the population of older adults and the corresponding risk data are jarring. According to the NFPA, StatsCan, and a 2019 study by Len Garis and colleagues at the University of the Fraser Valley, adults 65 and older are 2.5 times more likely to die in a structure fire than their younger counterparts. People 85 and older are 3.4 times more likely to perish in a fire, and fire fatalities among older adults are likely to increase to between 90 and 140 in the next 25 years, from an average of 50 a year today.

Why is this important to fire departments?

Lift assists. Falls with injury. Unattended cooking. The effects of medication on balance, cognition, and alertness. Maintaining and testing smoke alarms. Being able to hear smoke alarms. Having a home fire escape plan. Knowing how to shelter in place. Keeping exits clear of belongings.

A fall can lead to fear of another fall, which causes people to stay home, move less and lose the ability to clean and maintain their homes, thereby creating fall hazards and increasing fuel load.

In Canada, 95 per cent of older adults live independently, and most want to, but support is necessary to ensure safety.

The NFPA’s new Steps to Safety Prevent Fire and Falls at Home program reinforces independence, collaboration, engagement, and empowerment. An online training module at www.nfpa.org/stepstosafety and other free-to-download resources provide fire departments and community partners with tools to help older adults live safely.

It’s almost impossible for fire departments to reach older adults who live at home to ensure they have working smoke alarms, cook safely, and implement other fire and fall-prevention measures. Partnerships with agencies and organizations that work with or support older adults – such as Meals on Wheels and local seniors’ centres or clubs – are critical to the success of Steps to Safety.

According to the 2019 University of the Fraser Valley study Fire Risk in Senior Population, fire departments and community partners must redouble efforts to ensure older adults who live at home are equipped with working smoke alarms on every level of their homes, outside all sleeping areas, and in all bedrooms.

“Without a focused effort to ensure senior residents have the appropriate operational safety equipment,” the study says, “the annual fire-related death rate of seniors is expected to climb to between 90 and 140 fatalities in the next 25 years.”

Installing working smoke alarms according to NFPA and Canadian codes will reduce fatalities, the study says.

“A reduction of fire fatalities among seniors is expected if those seniors are in 100 per cent compliance of having a working smoke alarm. With this assumption, the expected fire-related deaths could be reduced to be between 60 and 90 fatalities per year in the next 25 years.”

The study also recommends that policy makers should improve access to working smoke alarms by providing them as a part of public health care coverage and services.

Steps to Safety includes videos, fall and fire-prevention messages, group presentations and PowerPoints, a turnkey toolkit for program providers, and the online learning module.

To reinforce the training and bring together fire departments and community organizations, I’m happy to conduct Steps to Safety sessions in your community. 

Laura King is the NFPA regional director for Canada. Contact her at lking@nfpa.org.