Fire Safety for Older Adults
An elderly couple in Methuen, Mass. died after a two-alarm blaze swept through their ranch-style home at the end of February, according to Boston.com.
The fire broke out about 3 a.m. on February 26, quickly engulfing the single-family structure. The man and woman were found in separate parts of the home after the fire had been extinguished, according to State Fire Marshal Stephen Coan.
Coan told the newspaper that since January 1st, 11 people had died in fires in Massachusetts – five of the victims had been elderly.
Additionally in February, a couple in their 80s died in a house fire in Concord, Mass., and a 90-year-old South Boston man died from injuries he suffered in a fire in his apartment.
“This has been a difficult year,” Coan told Boston.com. “The elderly population has been vulnerable in these fires.”