Just in time for the fire season, the Thomson-McDuffie Senior Center played host to a class on fire safety for local senior citizens. Approximately 45 seniors attended the class held on Wednesday, Dec. 12, and taught by McDuffie County Fire Public and Life Safety Educator Ed Lewis.
"I enjoyed it and I'm glad he came," Sally Mae Gordon said. "It helped me learn a lot of new things that I didn't know."
The seniors watched a video of an intentional burn of a two story house. The video provided details of the process, the timing and the results of the fire. There also was a comparison burn in a house with a sprinkler system.
While Lt. Lewis offered tips on what to do if caught in a fire, his main lessons were causes and prevention. He said it is important for seniors to not leave the stove unattended while cooking, to turn off appliances after use, to inspect and replace damaged or worn extension cords and to use a heavy-duty surge protector socket in electrical outlets with multiple plugs.
Lt. Lewis also encouraged the seniors to form a buddy system with a friend or a neighbor and remind each other to check smoke detector batteries.
Both the city and county fire departments offer free smoke detector/alarms with free installation for seniors. For more information on obtaining a smoke detector/alarm, call the McDuffie County Fire headquarters at 706-595-2045 or Thomson City Firefighter Chris Reynolds at 706-595-6133.
