Grant will help keep city’s seniors safer
Tallmadge Express – Tallmadge — Firefighters will be able to keep the city's senior population a little safer after receiving a $16,910 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Assistance to Firefighters Grant program.
U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) announced April 5 that $468,375 has been awarded to several fire departments in Northeast Ohio.
"Our first responders put their lives on the line every day across Ohio," said Brown. "These funds ensure that firefighters in Northeast Ohio have the resources they need to perform their jobs safely."
According to Tallmadge Fire Marshal Steve Gibson, the grant was written specifically to supply Tallmadge seniors with smoke detectors containing 10-year batteries.
Gibson said he has a list of about 380 residents.
"The people who need these the most are the most vulnerable," he said.
Gibson said to determine how many smoke detectors would be needed, the fire department used a list of individuals created by the city for its senior snow plow program
The criteria for the smoke detectors was the same as that for the snow plow program and was based on age, level of physical and mental ability and income.
Gibson said the fire department will soon order the detectors and then start contacting residents on the list to set up dates and times for installation.
The plan, he said, is to tie in the installations with developing a welfare check list.
Firefighters who install the detectors will take a checklist along with them to find out if residents would rather be called, or dropped in on, when safety personnel conduct welfare checks.
When the firefighters install the smoke detectors, Gibson said, they will be getting a snapshot of the individuals who live in the home, their health problems, etc. which will be kept in a database and be helpful if and when EMS needs to call on them.
