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Facts that help save lives... Information “Hilary uses a walker and she lives in an apart- ment building. She awakens one night to the smell of smoke and the fire alarm ringing. She's overwhelmed, confused and afraid as the smoke penetrates her apart- ment. Unable to locate her walker, panic sets in, but fortunately within minutes a firefighter is there yell- ing her name. “Over here!” she shouts, as a fireman appears and rescues her from a potentially serious situation. Later, Hilary remembers she had registered her name with the fire department and given them her name, address and particulars should there ever be an emergency.” Although this incident described above is a fictitious account of an emergency, it describes the type of situation that could be fatal if local authori- ties do not have the pertinent information at their fingertips. If the dispatch centre at the local fire depart- ment held records about residents with physical limitations (in the example above, Hilary's mobility issues), they would be Prepared to assist should an Advisory Commit- tee recently met with Fire Chief Richard Miller to discuss emergency situations and how to best serve the public. “In the case of a fire, firefighters have to think quickly to effectively rescue any individuals before it is too late. If we know information ahead of time it could save their lives,” says the fire chief. For instance a person with MS may not have the strength to be able to exit a building quickly. He also cited other examples of someone who is deaf or hard of hearing. “The first thing we do when we enter a home that is on fire is we call out and try to locate indi- viduals. Knowing ahead of time that the reason they are not answering is because they can’t hear us would help our firefighters,” says Chief Miller. It’s for these reasons the Scugog Fire Depart- ment is developing a database of information on individuals that may need assistance in an emer- gency situation. ich could help a er in an emergency Fire Chief Richard Miller and Edie Forsyth, Chair of the Acces- sibility Advisory Committee are urging local residents to provide information to the local fire department, that could save a life. Some of the information that could be important to know about anyone in your household is as follows: Are you a person with mobility issues? * Do you have a service animal? Are you blind or have low vision? © Do you have dementia? Please turn to page 12 FOCUS -JULY 2010 13