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Fire Strategy Aims to Protect the Elderly
With more than 50% of all fire deaths in the UK involving people over 65 years old, the UK’s Chief Fire Officers Association has launched a National Older Persons Strategy in an effort to stabilise fire deaths among this particularly vulnerable group.
Called Ageing Safely, its aim is to provide guidance and support to fire and rescue services and partner organisations, to protect older people from fire risks in the home. The strategy highlights the need to provide guidance and advice to carers through the use of advocates or peer-support workers, who are appropriately trained in fire prevention. It also says that fire services must regularly review their integrated risk management planning standards to take account of the changing age demographics and other information, such as the migration of older people in retirement. In addition, it calls for community mapping exercises to be carried out to identify organisations that engage with the older population, including inter-generational activities, to help deliver early interventions.
The strategy is available at www.cfoa.org.uk.