How to Protect the Elderly from Cooking Fires
We asked hundreds of people what they thought the #1 cause of home fires was for seniors 60+. The top concern we heard was kitchen stove fires.
According to the United States Fire Administration (USFA) kitchen fires are the #1 cause of home fires for ALL AGES. Aging adults do have more than 2x risk of death and injury from home fires.
How can you protect your loved ones from these common fires?
5 fire safety tips for Aging Adults
Before we dive in, here are 5 tips you can apply today to start protecting seniors from home fires.
- Test smoke detectors every 6 months
- Keep the home clear from clutter
- Create a fire escape plan
- Never smoke indoors, especially when drowsy
- Always stay in the kitchen when cooking
Why do seniors have an increased fire risk?
Per USFA Reports
As we can see from the image above, as people get older, their risk for death and injury increases. But what does that mean?
Aging has its side effects. This includes things like hearing loss, poor eye sight, and limited physical abilities. It can also mean forgetfulness, slower reactions, and side effects from medicine.
Seniors with hearing loss, may not hear fire safety equipment like smoke and fire alarms. Adults with poor eyesight may not immediately notice smoke or even flames.
Elderly adults may not be able to react due to disabilities or physical limitations.
Medications can have adverse effects, and seniors often take different medications. The side effects of these can lead to an increased risk for injury/death from a home fire.
Elderly adults face more risk from home and kitchen fires.
How can you protect seniors from common home fires?
This question is very important to us at FireAvert. We want everybody to have peace of mind that their loved ones are safe.
The 5 tips above are a great starting point for home fire safety.
- Working smoke detectors reduce risk of injury and death by 60%
- A clean home makes emergency escape easier
- A plan makes decision making simpler, important for emergency situations
- Smoking is a top cause for home fire deaths, never smoke indoors
- Forgotten cooking is one of the most common cooking fires
General safety precautions can and should still be applied to elderly adults. There are more things you can do to help specifically seniors.
Keep a working fire extinguisher in the home and make sure everyone knows how to use it. Fire blankets are a great alternative to standard chemical extinguishers. They are perfect for individuals with physical limitations to picking up heavy objects.
Heating is the 2nd most common cause of home fires. To prevent them, keep anything flammable/combustible far away from heating appliances/sources. Never keep blankets/furniture too close to a space heater.
In our poll for common home fires, many people thought dryers were a top cause of home fires. While they can lead to fires, they are not nearly as common as other types of fires. Still, to prevent dryer fires, ensure the lint filter in the dryer is changed every load.
Again, kitchen fires are by far the most common cause of home fires. Aging adults being forgetful and leaving food cooking on the stove exaggerates this. So the question now becomes:
How to prevent kitchen/stove fires for older adults?
A primary concern for seniors in the kitchen is forgetfulness. The best way to prevent forgetfulness from turning into a fire is with an Auto Stove Shutoff device. This ensures no matter what happens, forgotten cooking will not cause a fire.
Many families feel like they have to unplug the stove to stop mom or dad from potentially causing a fire. An Auto Stove Shutoff device provides this protection while giving parents more independence.
If you are interested in Automatic Stove Shutoff devices for seniors, click here.
Extra precautions involve making it obvious which stove element is on. We find using obvious, colorful stickers on the stove an effective method for seniors.
Another important tactic to put in place in elderly adult's kitchen is what we call the 3-foot rule. Never place anything within three feet of the stove. This includes towels, trinkets on the top of the stove, ingredients, anything.
Can I monitor my loved ones' cooking habits?
Not everyone lives near their parents, but everyone worries about them. To reduce anxiety and find peace of mind, consider a caregiver monitoring system.
There are dozens of monitoring systems designed for caregivers. The two most common concerns to track are the stove and TV’s.
We don’t have anything for TV’s, but FireAvert does provide the only stove monitoring system. It will let you rest easy and check on their stove from anywhere.
PRO Monitoring with FireAvert lets you check in on their stove, whether it's on or off. You can see how long the stove has been on for and what times they typically use it. It teaches you more with tailored insights into their fire risk.
The system will send you alerts if their stove was shut off from an Auto Stove Shutoff device. It also sends alerts if the smoke alarm is sounding or if the stove has been on for extended periods.
If you are interested, consider FireAvert for your loved ones #1 risk for home fires.
Sorry for the long self plug there, let’s get back to learning about how to protect seniors from home fires.
How can Seniors benefit from Fire Safety?
As we talked about earlier, elderly adults have a much higher risk if a fire happens. They also experience side effects from aging and medication making fires more likely.
Fire safety might help seniors more than any other group of people.
Implementing even one of these tips, can save the life of a loved one. Implementing everything in this article will reduce the risk to the seniors in your life.
Many of these tips can allow elderly parents to stay in their homes, instead of moving into a care facility. Fire safety can empower seniors to have more independence while they age-in-place.
Can fire safety for seniors help you?
Often the most overlooked factor of aging parents is the stress it causes their children. If you’re reading this right now, it is likely that you are anxious about the safety of your family.
Neglecting fire safety means you are at risk of thousands of dollars in fire damage repairs, or worse.
Implementing a fire safety plan will help you rest easier, knowing your home and loved ones are safe.
