| Senior Fire Safety Program |
|
|
|
 |
| Program Overview |
|
The Community Education Services, Senior Fire Safety Program provides fire prevention education to reduce fire deaths among seniors. The senior at-risk population includes adults 50 and older. This group is at a higher risk of dying in a residential fire, compared to other age groups.
To reduce fire and fall injuries and fatalities among adults 50 years and older who living independently, the Community Education unit implemented the National Fire Protection Association’s fire and fall prevention program, Remembering When™. The Unit partnered with the Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS), Seniors and People with Disabilities (SPD), to complete a grant project to deliver Remembering When™. This partnership between OSFM and DHS allowed staff to present the program to SPD caseworkers who have the ability to reach older adults through home visits.
|
|
|
| Remembering When Fire and Fall Prevention Program |
|
The OSFM Community Education Services Section partnered with the Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS), Seniors and People with Disabilities in 2007-2009 to carry out a pilot project to deliver home fire safety information to seniors. The project trained DHS staff (primarily caseworkers) to provide home fire safety information when they conducted home visits with seniors. The program delivered was the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)Remembering When: a fire and fall prevention program for older adults.
OSFM is training NFPA's Remembering When fire and fall prevention program to fire service and other partners statewide. The training provides tools for delivering fire and fall prevention strategies at the local level. By focusing on prevention OSFM believes we can make a difference in the residential fire death rate among Oregon's 65 and older population.
In the 2009-2011 biennium Community Education Services will expand the program for delivery to Oregon's senior citizens statewide.
|
|
|
| Statistics |
|
OREGON: From 2003-2007, 35% of the residential fire deaths were age 65 or older (46 of 131). The population for age 65 and older is estimated to continuing growing nationally and in Oregon. The estimated 2008 Oregon population 65 and older is 493,571 and is estimated to grow to 587,403 by 2013.
NATIONAL:
Nationally, the very old and the very young are at highest risk of death from home fires. Older adults age 65 or over are more than twice as likely to die as the general public. Risk increases with age. Adults 85 and over have nearly four times the risk of fire death as the general public. From 1980-2005, the share of home fire deaths accounted for by children under age 5 declined from 18% to 9%, while the share of home fire deaths older adults age 65 and over increased from 19% to 28%.
National Data Source: Characteristics of Home Fire Victims, National Fire Protection Association, July 2008
Oregon Data Source FOR DEATHS: DATA
Sources: 1980-2000 population - U.S. Bureau of the Census;
2001-2005 population - Population Research Center, PSU; 2006-2013 forecasts - Office of Economic Analysis; 1980-2004 vital statistics - Oregon Center for Health Statistics.
|
|
|
| 2008 Report |
|
During 2008, Community Education staff, along with 22 fire service representatives, trained 240 SPD personnel (primarily caseworkers) on the Remembering When™ program. The training provided tools for delivering fire and fall prevention strategies at the local level through home visits and group presentations. SPD caseworkers, trained on the prevention program, estimate they will make more than 1,100 home visits annually.
The 2008 Residential Civilian Fire Fatalities by Age Group graph shows a dramatic increase in residential fire fatalities beginning at age 50 and continuing to rise until age 89. The highest risk age group was 60-69 with 9 fatalities accounting for 30% of all residential fire fatalities. The 80-89 age group, with 6 fatalities accounted for 20% and the 50-59 year-old age group with five deaths represented 16.6% of residential fire fatalities. Together, these three age groups accounted for 66.6% of Oregon’s 2008 residential fire fatalities.
The oldest person to die in a residential fire in 2008 was 88 and the youngest was 28. 2008 Residential Fire Fatalities by Age and Gender
From 2004-2008, data shows the most vulnerable ages for dying in a residential fire are those in the follow age categories: 50-59, 60-69, and 80-89. Of the 133 residential fire fatalities over the five year period, 57% (76) were from these three age groups. Residential Fire Fatalities by Age and Gender (2004-2008)
Fire fatalities of adults age 50 and over increased from 18 in 2004 to 23 in 2008, approximately a 27% increase. Adults 50 and over represented 76.7% of all fire fatalities in 2008. According to the Portland State University Population Research center, 32.5% of Oregon’s population is age 50 and over. This means adults age 50 and over are nearly two and a half times (2.35) as likely to die in a fire as any other age group.
In the 2009-2011 biennium, Community Education Services will collaborate with the Oregon Life Safety Team to create a new program for Oregon’s increasing older adult population. The new program will focus on adults age 50 and over. In the interim, Community Education Services will continue to deliver the existing program and assist fire departments in developing partnerships with their local senior service providers in implementing the Remembering When™ program.
|
|
|
|
