Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service to visit hundreds of homes as part of Older Person’s Day

Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service to visit hundreds of homes as part of Older Person’s Day

Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service (MFRS) will be ensuring hundreds of residents over the age of 65 have working smoke alarms in their homes as part of its support for Older Person’s Day.

Fire crews, Vulnerable Persons Advocates and support staff from across MFRS will spend the day out in our communities on Monday 1st October offering valuable fire safety advice and fitting free smoke alarms in homes where residents are known to be over 65.

The safety campaign – organised in support of the National Fire Chiefs Council’s Home Safety Week (1st October – 7th October) – will run throughout the day and will cover Liverpool, Wirral, St Helens, Sefton and Knowsley.

Firefighters, support staff, Authority members and volunteers will all be providing important safety advice to residents as well as free home checks.

This will be the sixth consecutive year that MFRS has supported Older Person’s Day. Last year, MFRS staff left their day jobs and visited more than 1,000 properties and completed 628 Home Fire Safety Checks for older residents.

During these visits, 44 residents were found to be at high risk from potential fires in their home, something which may not have been discovered without the visits on Older Person’s Day.

Group Manager Mark Thomas said: “We are extremely proud to be able to show our support for Older Person’s Day and carry out this crucial day of activity. Older residents can be particularly at risk of fires in their homes, especially as they may still be using old appliances and may not be able to check their smoke alarms on a weekly basis.

“Whilst our teams are out in the community on a daily basis carrying out Home Fire Safety Checks, having the support of additional firefighters, staff volunteers and Authority members on Older Person’s Day means we are able to visit even more homes and share important advice with those most at risk. Carrying out such activity will help to save even more lives amongst some of the most vulnerable members of our communities.”

If you are over 65 and would like to receive a free Home Fire Safety Check, please call 0800 731 5958.