Older adults frequently are victims of fires

Published 2:27 pm Thursday, January 15, 2009

In a split second, the errant flame licked out from the stove, capturing a spot in the grandmother’s cotton nightdress. She was so busy cooking pancakes for her grandsons she didn’t feel the initial strike.

The flame advanced quickly even as she slapped at it with her hands to smother the fire.

Too late, the nightgown and matching cotton robe welcomed the fire. Only the quick action of Marion Wilson’s two grandsons stopped the flames.

While Stuart, 13, used a fire extinguisher to put out the fire spreading through his grandmother’s clothing, Scott, 12, dialed 911 to summon help.

From her hospital bed in the intensive care burn unit of Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Marion Wilson, 75, repeated the words of her grandson, Scott Core, speaking to the 911 operator, “My grandma caught on fire but we put her out.”

Despite her pain, she found a way to smile and repeatedly praise Scott and Stuart for their quick thinking and courageous actions that July morning.

Wilson, a vibrant, active, healthy senior had traveled from her home in Massillon, Ohio, in mid-July to spend several weeks with her daughter, Martha Core, and her family in Lynnwood when the accident occurred.

In one of her myriad roles as a community volunteer, Wilson trained Girl Scouts in fire safety, her daughter says. “She was mad at herself for not thinking to ‘stop, drop and roll,’” (the key safety rule for clothing on fire).

With her family at her side, Wilson fought for her life. She had third-degree burns over 25 percent of her body. There were almost daily treatments to remove dead tissue as well as three surgeries for skin grafts and a double mastectomy. Wilson died Sept. 5, 2008.

Another accidental kitchen fire claimed the life of a south Snohomish County woman in late November. In that instance, the victim was using an electric stove when her garment caught fire.

These tragedies are part of a national picture that has fire safety officials deeply concerned. Adults over the age of 64 are only 12 percent of America’s population and yet they suffer 30 percent of the deaths in our country resulting from fires, according to the U. S. Fire Administration.

The majority of accidental home fires start in the kitchen.

Like Marion Wilson, I’ve been cooking for decades and I’ve thought nothing about going into the kitchen to prepare breakfast wearing a loose, cotton nightgown or robe with long sleeves. Yet, experts say loose garments, with sleeves that might accidentally brush against a burner are fire hazards.

In Wilson’s case, the family now suspects the gas burner may have had a slight leak that caused it to flame up and catch her nightgown. That could happen to any of us at any time.

I needed a refresher course in home fire safety, so I went to an expert: Kim Schroeder, Fire and Life Safety Education specialist for Fire District 1. The men and women of this district serve a large portion of unincorporated south Snohomish County.

She had lots of practical information for folks of all ages. Starting with that lesson on fire safety we learned as children: Stop, drop and roll if your clothing is on fire. That quick action should smother the flames.

Fire prevention begins with good habits, Schroeder says. For example:

Don’t wear garments with loose or dangling sleeves when you cook.

Keep clutter away from the stove, especially flammables such as recipes, magazines, newspapers, food packaging, and paper towels.

Turn the handles of your pans in, away from the stove edge, while you cook.

Keep pan lids nearby to cover and smother a pan fire. Turn off the stove. Never throw water or flour on a burning pan.

Never leave your cooking unattended.

Never use your stove or oven to heat your home.

Install a fire extinguisher in the kitchen, know how to use it and make sure it is rated for use on kitchen fires.

Before you go to bed at night, double-check the kitchen to make sure all the appliances are turned off. Follow this same step whenever you leave the house.

Keep your cooking appliances clean. Built-up grease can flare up easily.

“It’s just a matter of realizing when you’re cooking, you’re dealing with products that can hurt you or those in the home with you,” Schroeder says. “If safety is second nature to you it will always be there to protect you.”

Even then, accidents can and will happen. The quick actions of Wilson’s grandsons and the presence of a fire extinguisher in the kitchen kept the fire from harming her more and spreading to the rest of the house.

The young men were honored by the firefighters, support staff and commissioners of Fire District 1 for their heroic actions. Still, nothing can make up for the loss of their beloved Grammy.

Marion Wilson’s death is a reminder to all of us who spend lots of time in the kitchen. Accidental cooking fires can happen at any time to anyone.

Good fire safety habits are the first line of defense.

Stop, drop and roll could save your life.

Linda Bryant Smith writes about life as a senior citizen and the issues that concern, annoy and often irritate the heck out of her now that she lives in a world where nothing is ever truly fixed but her income. You can e-mail her at ljbryantsmith@yahoo.com.