Free smoke detectors available for Longmeadow seniors through grant

Date: 10/16/2014

LONGMEADOW – The Fire Department was recently awarded a Student Awareness of Fire Education (SAFE) grant for $6,100 from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, which is being used to offer 30 free smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to senior residents.

The Fire Department has partnered with Brightwood Hardware, which has offered a discount price for detectors, Capt. Gerald Macsata, fire prevention officer, said. The total cost of the detectors is $500.

Fire Chief Eric Madison said that in the past SAFE grant funds have been used exclusively for youth. This year, the Commonwealth expanded the grant’s field of use to include seniors.

“Working smoke alarms save lives,” Macsata added. “In order for them to be useful, they have to be functional. Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas. You are not going to detect it without an alarm.”

Brightwood Hardware Manager Ken Cohn said he considers the partnership with the Fire Department a worthwhile project aimed at educating seniors on fire safety.

“You read about these things in the paper,” he said. “It’s such an important thing, replacing the older protectors. Sometimes [not replacing or fixing alarms] can end in tragedy.”

Macsata said the remaining $1,500 for the senior portion of the SAFE grant is used to educate older adults on the unique fire risks of their age group, which includes smoking, home oxygen use, cooking, electrical, candle safety, and heating dangers.

When alarms are installed by firefighters, seniors are also given advice on dangerous fire hazards that may be present in their homes, he explained. Having two ways out of a building, a designated meeting in case a fire does occur, and home fire escapes are also crucial topics typically discussed.

The testing of devices, replacement of batteries, and fall prevention interventions, where needed, are also part of the senior SAFE grant program.

The youth portion of SAFE funding is $4,100, which is used to educate children about fire risks, prevention, and what to do in real-life situations, Macsata explained.

Since the SAFE program initially began funding, there have been 259 documented “Young Heroes” cases in the Commonwealth, according to the Massachusetts Office of Public Safety’s website.

In 2012, then 6-year-old Springfield resident Deus Guzman was cited for heroism by the Massachusetts State Fire Marshal’s office and the East Longmeadow Board of Selectmen at its June 26 meeting for helping his family out of a fire.

Firefighter Edward McClandish spoke to Guzman’s class at Meadow Brook School as part of the comprehensive fire safety program.

The average annual number of fire related deaths of children under the age of 18 has fallen 72 percent since the beginning of the SAFE program in the fall of 1995.

Funding for SAFE grants comes from an appropriation from general state revenue funds distributed by the Executive Office of Public Safety.

Macsata said the department is pursing another SAFE grant for the following year, which was applied for during the first week of October.

“This is something that’s important and we will continue to use resources as they become available,” he added.

Any senior residents interested in the installation of smoke or carbon monoxide detectors can call Macsata at 565-4108 or email a request to gmacsata@longmeadow.org.