People over age 65 are more susceptible to injury than younger people are, and according to the American Burn Association (ABA), this includes burn injuries and death from fires. The ABA’s official site (ameriburn.org) reports that in terms of fire injuries and deaths, the leading cause of death in people over age 65 is careless smoking. In addition, the leading cause of injuries in the same age group is cooking injuries.
Older people exhibit certain behaviors that can lead to injury and death from fires, according to the ABA, including:
· Misusing medication and alcohol, which can cause falling asleep while smoking
· Overloading electrical outlets
· Using older and out-of-date electrical appliances
· Lack of working smoke alarms and not being able to hear a working one
· Using space heaters improperly
It can be difficult to teach fire safety to older adults because they can be set in their ways. In addition, they can feel insulted by a perceived stereotype of needing assistance at an older age. Older adults also feel extremely safe in their homes and do not think anything bad can happen to them while in it.
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