FP&S Grants - Language re: deaf and hard of hearing alarms

[NeilMcD]

Folks who have been doing the FP&S grants for a while probably noticed something different in this year's guidance.

The guidance gives additional consideration to departments and organizations that include deaf and hard of hearing populations in their alarm distribution programs as well as training and outreach to accompany those efforts.

CEPIN is part of a non-profit organization dedicated to improving access for deaf and hard of hearing folks and we've put together a program to help those departments get the most out of their alarm distribution programs. You can find more information at: http://www.cepintdi.org/firegrant2010

Thanks!

[jhl81791123]

deaf and HOH smoke detectors.

For the 2009 FP&S, Waterford Fire Dept. was awarded a grant project to provide 150 smoke detector systems to the deaf and hard of hearing in our jurisdiction. We are getting ready to install these systems in the next few weeks.

[LVFD301]

What kind of detectors did you use?

[NeilMcD]

Congrats to Waterford for winning their grant.

As for the make/models. I have to admit I'm frustrated with the current state of the market. Most of the systems I see rely on picking up the audible signal of the detector and are plugged in near the bed. As a current user of this system, I can tell you they're far from perfect.

The best systems are the ones that are interconnected and hard-wired into the homes. Since the grant specifically says we cannot allocate funding for installation costs, this is impractical for many departments.

So what many of them do instead is they order these type of alarms: http://www.soundbytes.com/Merchant2/...uct_Code=G7110 where a powerful strobed alarm is plugged into the wall.

As I'm sure every fire/life-safety professional knows, this really is like putting a bandaid over an arterial bleed. It's not connected to anything else and won't trigger until smoke enters the room the person is actually in. Yes, it's better than nothing, but I still think it promotes a false sense of security.

This is why it's so important to have regular outreach and training efforts such as what our organization offers with your local deaf and hard of hearing communities so you can find out what type of systems best fit their needs.

-Neil

[jhl81791123]

What kind of detectors did you use?

I used Silent Call.

Silentcall.com

[WJVaughn]

wow how did you dig this thread back up?

[jhl81791123]

wow how did you dig this thread back up?

Used the search at the top of the page. Searched for "Waterford". Just looking to see what I had discussed in the past. I don't log on alot.