– Fire Safety For the Hearing Impaired

Robert S. Dietz, Au.D., M.B.A., CCC-A, FAAAIn 2006, fire departments

responded to 412,500 home fires in the United States, which claimed the lives of 2,580 people and injured another 12,925. (Karter 2007).

On average in the United States in 2006, someone died in a fire about every 162 minutes, and someone was injured every 32 minutes (Karter 2007).

Adults aged 65 and older, die in home fires far more often than the rest of the population. -FEMA 1999 U.S. Fire Safety Report

Response TimeWhen your smoke alarm goes off, you know what to do.

You stop and call 911

You gather up your important items…….jewelry, photos, documents, goldfish…..

You make your way through the fire and smoke to safety……all in less than 5 minutes.

The only problem is that your entire home was complety filled with smoke and fire in less than 3 minutes ……..making escape to safety impossible!

Response Time

Once a fire starts in your home, you may have less than 3 minutes to escape.

If you haven’t thought about your escape plan in advance, you certainly won’t be thinking about it at 700 degrees C° …. with fire and smoke everywhere and limited visibility.

Create an escape plan today and rehearse it frequently.

Response Time

180 Seconds to get out of my house? Less than 3 minutes? Is that really true?

Response

The following demonstrates what can happen in a very short period of time.

Both videos run in real time.

The home depicted in the photos was from a recent fire in Hartford, Connecticut. It illustrates the degree to which fire can spread before a fire unit arrives.

Thanks to Firefighter Jason Batz of the Reading, PA Fire Department, for sharing his response video.

Response Time

In a few seconds, a Christmas tree will ignite in your home. The alarm to the fire station is instantaneous……the fire is displayed on the left screen – the fire department response is on the right…………………

How long would it take YOU to respond?

Fasten your seatbelt!

Would you be ABLE to Respond?

The room is fully engulfed with smoke and flame at 47 seconds. We are approaching one minute since the start of the fire.

It will take the fire department 2 minutes and 17 seconds to reach your home.

Flames and smoke have spread everywhere.……….

At this point the fire is so extensive that escape to safety would be impossible.

Escape to safety at this point would be very difficult.

Your house may not have survived the fire.

But what about you? Would you have survived?

Response

What warning did you have?

Did you respond quickly?

Would you be able to respond quickly?

Fire/Smoke Detectors

You are safe because you had a working fire/smoke detector

It sounded like this…..

But what if it sounded like this……

Or what if it sounded like this…….

This fire started during the day…during daylight … when you were awake.

Response Time

Response Time

But what if a fire started at night, while you were sleeping, and you had little warning?

http://www.sbcfire.org

Response Time

And what if the warning you did hear sounded like this……

Or like this…….

Response Time

This is what millions of hearing impaired individuals hear when a standard smoke detector is activated………………………

Silence

Fire can spread rapidly

You have as little as three minutes to escape safely

Three minutes from the time that the alarm sounds.

If you are asleep, you have three minutes to respond to your warning device, wake up, get out of bed and exit your home.

http://www.sbcfire.org

Your ability to get out depends on advance warning

And advance planning —

You need a home fire escape plan

A plan that everyone in your family has practiced

ESCAPE PLANS

ESCAPE PLANS You and your family should practice an

escape plan from every room in your home.

Warn everyone to stay low to the floor when escaping from the fire

Never open doors that feel hot.

Select a meeting place where everyone can meet after escaping from the house.

Get out first, then call for help.

Contact your local fire department if you would like further help with your escape plan.

Use your mouse to continue the presentation manually to the next series of slides.

http://www.sbcfire.org

SMOKE/FIRE ALARMS

Smoke alarms are lifesaving devices

A visible working smoke alarm can double your chances of survival.

But are all fire and smoke alarms suitable for the elderly?

What about the hearing impaired?

What is the best alarm for me?

Hearing Impaired and Elderly Concerns

Fatal fires often occur when people are sleeping

Smoke will put a person into deeper sleep if she or he does not wake up in time.

Some older adults are on medications that affect arousal

For the elderly the standard sleep cycle may not be typical

Elderly patients have a relative inability to maintain REM sleep due to disruptions in their sleep patterns

Therefore by not reaching full REM, they are more difficult to arouse with awakening mechanisms

Hearing Impaired and Elderly Concerns

For the hearing-impaired, traditional smoke alarms may offer little protection

Most fire alarms advertised for the hearing-impaired produce sound that will not be perceived as very loud.

If your hearing loss is more than 60 dB at 4000 Hz., it is unlikely that you will hear the alarm at night when you are asleep

You may not hear the smoke detector if it is not located right above you.

Elderly patients may have mobility issues

Hearing-impaired patients may have communication issues in emergency situations

Keep a telecommunication device within arm’s reach, next to your bed.

Keep emergency telephone numbers and hearing aids handy.

Which smoke alarm is best for you?

Audible Alarms

If you have a hearing loss, make sure your smoke alarm gives out sound that ranges from a minimum of 85 dB and a maximum of 120 dB.

Make sure your alarm is UL approved and NFPA 72 approval

The label should include the intensity of the sound

FEATURES

Complies with NFPA 72, ADA 4.28.3

Unit listed to UL 217, and CSFM 7257-569;104 & 7257-569;116, strobe to UL 1971

Features a 90 db solid state piezo signal

STROBE LIGHTS

Did you know that smoke alarms with strobe lights work while in the AC power mode

BUT will not work in the backup battery mode?

This means the alarm will beep, but the strobe light won’t flash. If you receive a free strobe light from your local fire department or

elsewhere, ask if the backup battery mode will allow the strobe lights to flash.

STROBE LIGHTS

Strobes, promulgated by the National Fire Protection Association as functional equivalents to the audible smoke alarm, are actually 53% less effective than the standard smoke detector according to the weighted average rankings.

Waking Effectiveness of Audible, Visual and Vibratory Emergency Alarms on People of all Hearing AbilitiesJacqueline Du Bois, Erin Ashley, Michael Klassen, and Richard Roby

VIBRATING SMOKE ALARMS

For hearing-impaired individuals, a smoke alarm that vibrates your bed may be best.

The only devices equivalent to the audible detector for both deaf and hard of hearing people were the bed shakers, the intermittent bed shaker in particular.

I have read two recent studies that have done extensive research on the waking effectiveness and both studies reached similar conclusions: the strobe is an ineffective wakening device – the vibration alarms are the most effective.

Vibrating Smoke Alarms

The only devices equivalent to the audible detector for both deaf and hard of hearing people were the bed shakers, the intermittent bed shaker in

particular.

Waking Effectiveness of Audible, Visual and Vibratory Emergency Alarms on People of all Hearing AbilitiesJacqueline Du Bois, Erin Ashley, Michael Klassen, and Richard Roby

Gallaudet University

Vibrating Smoke Alarms

The intermittent bed shaker was 100% effective in awakening both hearing, non-hearing and hearing-impaired

Waking Effectiveness of Emergency Alerting Devices For The Hearing Able, Hard of Hearing, and Deaf

Erin Mack Ashley, Ph.D. 2007

SEPARATE SMOKE ALARMS VS. RECEIVERS

Most independent smoke alarms are not wired in a way that allows one fire/smoke detector to transmit to another fire/smoke detector.

For example, if a separate visual/auditory smoke alarm is placed somewhere in your home and you walk into another room, you won’t see the flashing lights.

For a hard of hearing person, the sound may be or too soft to be heard.

It is recommended that you have a multi-alert system that allows you to place several smoke alarm transmitters in different places at your home.

This way,if one fire/smoke detector off, all other detectors will go off.

SMOKE ALARMS

Test them monthly

Keep them free of dust

Replace the battery at least once every year.

Smoke alarms should be replaced after ten years of service, or as recommended by the manufacturer.

Hearing Impaired and Fire Warning Devices

Smoke detectors and alarm systems are readily available on the internet.

Inexpensive systems that include an audible alarm and a visual alarm start at about $100.00

Complete systems that include a strobe, audible alarm and vibrator run about $325.00

If you add a few remote receivers, chances are the entire system is less the $500.00

How comfortable are you with your current fire alert system?

POWER OUTAGES

AC powered alarm systems may not operate during power outages.

Consider using an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) to power your system. They cost less than $100.00 and can save your life.

A UPS plugs into your wall socket. You plug your devices into the UPS. (smoke alarm, computers, or

When the power goes out, the UPS will supply power to your auditory/visual/vibratorysmoke alarms.

When considering a smoke alarm device, check to see if it’s UPS-compatible.

Your best friend fire/smoke detector

Someone you can trust

Someone who has been trained to respond

Your best friend

Hearing Dog

Trusted Companion

Test it daily

Keep it free of dust

Doesn’t need batteries

IF YOUR HOME IS ON FIRE

If there is a fire in your home, escape immediately.

If you are in a room with a closed door, before you open the door, check the door for heat first before opening.

Use the back of your hand to feel for heat on top of the door and on the door knob.

If it is hot, do not open the door. Find another way to exit the room.

If you are unable to exit a room, throw anything possible outside the window.

A pillow on the ground will alert a firefighter to look up and they’ll see who needs help.

Remember to stay out once you have escaped

Contact 9-1-1 AFTER you escape from you home.

One-third of American households interviewed thought they would have at least 6 minutes to escape.

The time available is often less than 3 minutes

And only 8% said their first thought on hearing a smoke alarm would be to get out!

Smoking If you actually believe that you’re immune from cancer, heart disease, and emphysema, at least worry about burning to death.

Never smoke in bed.

Don’t smoke when you are abnormally tired.

Use large, deep ashtrays, and empty them frequently.

February 28, 2008

Your ability to get out depends on advance warning

And advance planning —

You need a home fire escape plan

A plan that everyone in your family has practiced

ESCAPE PLANS

Only one-fifth to one-fourth of households (23%) have actually developed such a plan

In 2006, fire departments responded to 412,500 home fires in the United States

Which claimed the lives of 2,580 people and injured another 12,925

– not including the firefighters who died or were injured as a result of these fires.

You have the power to prevent fires in your home.

Summary

Do not try to fight the fire yourself.

Get out quickly and stay out.

Do not try to gather personal possessions.

If smoke is present, exit as low to the ground as possible and keep your mouth covered.

Call 911 once you reach a safe location.

Create an escape plan today and rehearse it frequently.

References http://www.cepintdi.org/pdf/atip1005.pdf http://fire.nist.gov/tree_fire.htm

http://www.firesafetycouncil.com/english/pubsafet/videofiles.htm Prevention (3.5 MB) Detection (3.5 MB) Escape (3.5 MB)

Ahrens, M., “The U.S. Fire Problem Overview Report: Leading Causes and Other Patterns and Trends,” NFPA Publication, 2003.

http://www.sleepdisorderchannel.net/stages, September 2004.

Pezoldt, V.J. and van Cott, H.O., “Arousal from Sleep by Emergency Alarms:  Implications from the Scientific Literature,” National Bureau of Standards Consumer Sciences Division publication, NBSIR 78-1484(HEW),1978.

Lucas, J.W., Schiller, J.S. and Benson, V. “Summary Health Statistics for U.S. Adults”, Vital Health Statistics 10 (218):5, 34-37 (2004).

Bruck, D. and Horasan, M., “Non-arousal and Non-action of Normal Sleepers in Response to a Smoke Detector Alarm,” Fire Safety Journal, 25:125-139 (1995).

Bonnett, M.H. and Johnson, L.C., “Relationship of arousal threshold to sleep stage distribution and subjective estimates of depth and quality of sleep,” Sleep, 1:161-168 (1978).

Experimental tests performed at Combustion Science & Engineering, Inc., Columbia, MD 2000-2002.

U.S. Census Bureau 2004, “U.S. Interim Projections by Age Sex, Race and Hispanic Origin,” http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/usinterimproj/, September 2004.

http://www.hartford.gov

http://www.sbcfire.org

http://www.assistivedevices.net/smoke-detectors/Default.htm

http://www.hearmore.com/store/prodList.asp?idstore=1&idcategory=17

Special Thanks

Frank Arcentales, Fire Department City of New York

Jason Batz of the Reading, PA Fire Department

Cynthia Compton-Conley, Ph.D., Gallaudet University