Fall rarely overstays its welcome in our part of the world. With that in mind, it may be a good time to consider those for whom winter can be more of a health hazard than an inconvenience.
For many of our citizens who are elderly and on fixed incomes, the cold weather that accompanies winter makes them particularly vulnerable.
Income level and age are two of the biggest factors in deaths from fires in the United States, according to a report from the Federal Emergency Management Authority that collected data from a wide range of studies.
According to that report, virtually every study of socioeconomic characteristics has shown that lower levels of income are either directly or indirectly tied to an increased risk of fire.
As for the elderly, each year a disproportionately high number of elderly people are killed in residential fires. Beginning at age 70, an individual’s risk of dying in a fire rises dramatically. Those between the ages of 70 and 74 have a 50 percent greater chance of being killed in a fire than the population at large. By age 85, the risk of dying is more than 250 percent higher than for the overall population.
When a person is both elderly and poor, the threats of a fire death increase exponentially.
Given what we know of these fire risks, now is a good time to check in on your elderly neighbors, especially those who are poor or are living on a fixed income, to make sure every precaution has been taken before the weather turns cold.
Fortunately, there are some tools available to help achieve that goal. TVA, through its partner energy-providers, offers a free program that will assess homes not only for energy efficiency, but for safety — checking everything from heating systems to insulation, weather-stripping to duct work. Often, there are rebates or incentives provided for any needed repairs.
But there are other measures that can be taken simply through our attention. Does your relative or neighbor have working smoke alarms? Are electric outlets overloaded? Are space heaters — often a primary source of fires — located away from drapes, curtains and furniture?
These are all things that can be considered now, while there is ample time to make corrections before the onset of winter weather.
Utility companies and our local fire departments are a good source of information on how to make homes less vulnerable.
Finally, when the winter does arrive, checking on our neighbors regularly should be a habit.
Most fires are easily preventable and often, awareness is the first step.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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